


Changing Hearts

by xXdreameaterXx



Category: Actor RPF, British Actor RPF, Doctor Who RPF
Genre: Cheating, F/M, Infidelity, Midlife Crisis, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-11-28 05:56:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 43
Words: 63,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11411640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXdreameaterXx/pseuds/xXdreameaterXx
Summary: When Peter returns to London after having finished Doctor Who, he wants nothing more than to spend time with his family. However, he soon finds that they have been keeping secrets from him. Confused, disappointed and heading straight towards a midlife crisis, he moves in with Jenna in the spur of the moment. But the trouble has only just begun.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, the weekend came early :) Hope you'll enjoy it!!!

“Thanks for the lift,” Jenna said happily before she leaned across the seats to give him a peck on the cheek. “I'm going to miss you.”  
“I'm gonna miss you, too,” Peter admitted and he thought that his voice sounded sad and heavy and maybe a tiny bit exhausted as well. They had been working on the Christmas special almost non-stop for the past few weeks and Peter had been so happy about Jenna's return for his last episode that the weariness hadn't really caught up with him until they were done. Now that he was back in London his bones felt heavy and his back was aching and he wanted nothing more than to go home and relax for the next few weeks. No work, no monster, just his family, his bed, his guitar and some pointless doodling. It was going to be heavenly after all the work he had put into Doctor Who.  
“I'm assuming we'll see each other for coffee,” Jenna remarked. “I mean, after I've slept for a month straight. I'll give you a call.”  
Peter chuckled. “If I don't answer, I'll call you back after I've slept for two months.”  
With a smile on her face Jenna stepped out of the car and grabbed her suitcase from the boot. He waved at her once more before she vanished inside the house and Peter sank a little deeper into his seat. He would really miss her, working with her. But for now he was really looking forward to some quiet family time in his own four walls.

* * *

“I'm home!” Peter called out into the house before he dropped his heavy suitcase next to the door. There was no response, none at all, which confused him a little. Elaine had known for weeks that he would come home today and his daughter had promised to be here for the weekend as well. Then, as he stepped deeper into the house, Peter could hear the water running upstairs. Elaine hadn't forgotten him, she was only taking a shower.  
Feeling a little relieved, Peter sank down onto the sofa and put his feet up without even bothering to take his shoes off. The last few weeks had been exhausting. In fact, the last few years had been exhausting, but he had loved every second of it.  
Doctor Who had always been his dream ever since he could remember, long before he had even considered becoming an actor. The Doctor was his hero and he had played him for four very good years. It had been demanding and it had been amazing and now that it was over Peter felt both sad and relieved at the same time. Right now he needed to rest and all he really wanted was to be home, to be with his family. He had missed them over the past years.  
To occupy himself while his wife was still in the shower Peter reached for the stack of magazines on the coffee table when a few letters fell right into his lap. He put the magazines down to have a look and instantly found the electricity bill that he discarded on the table. He wasn't really in the mood for that sort of thing right now. He spotted a few more bills and and a postcard sent from Australia. As he turned it around and read the small handwriting he realized that while he had been working hard some of his friends had had a blast hanging out with kangaroos. He and Elaine should go on a holiday soon, preferably somewhere warm with a lot of sunshine.  
Peter was just about the put the rest of the stack back on the coffee table when a specific letter caught his attention. The envelope was gone and it was addressed to his daughter, so he really shouldn't read it at all – but the emblem of her university and the fact that the letter was just lying here out in the open sparked his curiosity. Before he could think better of it Peter had unfolded the letter and glanced at the content. He read it again just to be sure, but the longer he stared at the words in front of him the less sense they made. It couldn't be right.

“Peter Capaldi, you better not be lying on the sofa with your shoes on!” Elaine's voice came from the direction of the kitchen, but Peter hardly paid any attention to it at all. With his eyes still set on the piece of paper he slowly rose from the sofa and followed his wife's voice into the kitchen. He couldn't believe what he was reading.  
“Elaine,” he asked carefully once he had reached her and he held up the letter so she could see what he was talking about. “Why does this say that Cissy has quit uni?”  
Her mouth curled into a sympathetic smile. “Welcome home,” she said instead of answering his question. “I was thinking about ordering from that Thai place for dinner. What do you say?”  
“I, uhm, I don't mind,” he replied, feeling a little confused because his wife was apparently avoiding his question. Peter placed the letter on the table, deciding not to let it go so soon. “What's wrong with Cissy? Did she really quit uni? I don't understand.”  
His wife inhaled deeply and the smile faded from her face long before she spoke. She seemed reluctant all of a sudden.  
“We wanted to discuss the matter over dinner. Cissy is still out with some friends, but she'll be home in an hour or so,” Elaine explained calmly.  
“That sounds bad,” Peter's voice was wary when he spoke. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong. Every time Peter had spoken to his daughter about her school she hadn't missed an opportunity to tell him how much she loved her classes. There was no reason for her to quit. Unless something bad had happened. Unless. . .  
“Elaine, tell me what's wrong,” he demanded. “I can't wait for another hour because right now I'm assuming the worst. Tell me it's not that.”  
“Maybe you should sit down,” his wife suggested and her voice was irritatingly calm.  
With a sigh Peter plopped down on one of the kitchen chairs, looking at her expectantly. “Please just tell me that she's not pregnant. If she failed her classes, that's fine. If she wants to switch schools or do something else, we'll find something that suits her, but tell me that she's not pregnant.”

When Peter looked up at his wife he could read the answer from her face. It was right there, plain as pikestaff. All of a sudden he felt a little sick.  
“We agreed to wait until you got home to tell you. It's not something that is easily discussed over the phone,” she told him in a calm manner.  
“That letter is two months old!” Peter argued instantly. He had been home for the occasional weekend in the meantime. And if that was when Cissy had received the confirmation of her de-registration, it meant that she had known about the pregnancy for a lot longer. At least long enough to think about quitting university.  
“Cissy wanted to tell you straight away,” Elaine explained with a heavy sigh. “But I said it would be better to wait until you had finished Doctor Who. You needed a clear head for your last episode. I just didn't think it was fair-”  
“Fair?!” Peter almost barked at her as he rose back to his feet. He wasn't the type to shout, especially not at home, but right now he just couldn't believe what he was hearing. His daughter was pregnant and quitting her education and no one had bothered to tell him in at least two months. If that wasn't a good reason to raise his voice, Peter didn't know what was. “I am her father! I have every right to know what's going on in my daughter's life . What isn't fair is that you decided to keep it from me! How long have you known?!”  
Elaine only stared at him in response.  
“How long?!”  
His wife sighed. “About three months,” she admitted. “Maybe a bit longer.”  
Peter inhaled sharply and raised his hands to his face, rubbing his eyes with his palms. His daughter was pregnant. She quit university. His wife had kept it a secret from him. Then a question came to his mind and to his horror Peter realized that he didn't know the answer to it.  
“Who's the father?” he wanted to know. “I mean, I'm assuming she knows, right? What kind of guy is he? Is he nice?”  
“Of course she knows,” Elaine rolled her eyes in reply. “And he promised to quit the drugs before the baby is born.”  
“ _What?!_ ”  
“Calm down!” she raised her voice a little. “I was joking, okay?”  
“This is really not a good time to be joking!”  
“Ben is a nice, young man,” Elaine told him. “He knows about the baby and he is excited. He's not going to let Cissy down, trust me.”  
No matter how Elaine tried to reassure him, somehow it only made feel Peter worse. Their daughter had a boyfriend, one that Elaine had obviously met, and he hadn't even known of his existence until now. What sort of father was he to Cissy when he didn't even know that?  
“How long have you known about him?” Peter snapped, but right now he didn't care about the tone of his voice. He was angry. Angry at Elaine for having kept him in the dark about everything that had happened lately.  
“They've been dating for over a year and he's been over for dinner a couple of times. He is a really nice guy, Peter. He's 25 and he graduated last year, he's got a good job and they're planning to move Cissy's things to his flat next week. He's a good boyfriend and he'll be a good father.”  
“Why didn't I know?” Peter demanded to know. “If they've been dating for over a year, I should have known! I should have met him!”  
“You were rarely ever here!”  
“I've been here on so many weekends, Elaine! There was more than enough opportunity for you or Cissy to tell me! About the boy, about Cissy being pregnant. I should have known!”  
Elaine hesitated before she spoke, but when she did her voice was full of conviction. “I decided against it.”

It was then that Peter decided he needed to get out of the house. He couldn't possibly stick around for another moment, not when everything his wife was telling him was only confusing him more. His daughter had a long term boyfriend, she was pregnant, she had abandoned her education and his wife had decided to keep it a secret from him. If he hadn't found the letter he would still be in the dark.  
Without saying another word Peter turned around and headed back towards the door. He had wanted to come home for weeks, months, and now that he was here it didn't feel like his home at all anymore. And his family, the one that had always told him how much they missed him, had apparently found a way to live without him. Right now he had no reason to stay at all.  
“Where are you going?!” Elaine demanded to know.  
“Out!” Peter shouted in response and grabbed his suitcase on his way through the door. He would come back once he had properly digested the news, but for now he couldn't possibly stay.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thank you guys so, so much for the many comments! :) I'm sure you've all enjoyed the first chapter a lot more than Peter XD Let's see what's gonna happen next, shall we?

Jenna had only just managed to take a shower and order a pizza from her favourite delivery service when the phone rang on her sofa table. For a brief moment she cursed herself for forgetting to switch it off before she leaned forward, grabbed the annoying device and decided to check her messages.

**Tom**  
_Hey honey, did you get home already? I could come over and bring food._

Jenna let out a tired groan at the mention of the word “honey” and his suggestion. All she really wanted was to put her feet up and relax without having to bother with anybody else, but she hadn't seen Tom in weeks and something told her he would be a little cross with her if she cancelled on him again. Jenna stared at the message for a while longer. How mad would he be if she said no? She had wrapped up Victoria and Doctor Who for the time being, she would be in London for a while. There was more than enough time to see him after the weekend. Yet before she could even make up her mind the doorbell interrupted her train of thoughts.  
“Tom, I swear, if that is you I will take the food and send you away,” she growled as she rose to her feet and trudged towards the corridor.  
However, it wasn't Tom standing in front of the door when she opened it.  
“Peter,” Jenna blurted out in surprise. He was one of the last people she would have expected right now, especially since they had only said goodbye two hours earlier. “What are you doing here?”  
For a long moment Peter did nothing but stare at her and his face was growing paler by the second while he was clutching the handle of his suitcase. Something terrible must have happened, otherwise he wouldn't be here, looking as terrified as he did.  
“Is everything alright?” she asked him. “Oh God, did something happen?”  
“I, uhm,” Peter stammered in response before he cleared his throat, “I'm gonna be a grandfather.”

Peter was a mess and it took Jenna a moment to take the suitcase from him and usher him into her house. He didn't say anything else and somehow she got the feeling that there was more to this story than just his daughter being pregnant, but for the time being he was still too shaken up to talk. She could scarcely imagine what kind of shock the news must have been for him.  
“There, sit down,” she told him calmly when they had reached the sofa. “I'll get us something to drink, okay?”  
When Peter nodded slowly Jenna turned around and made her way towards the kitchen. She drew the phone out of her pocket and sent Tom a text, telling him that she had a friend with an emergency over to talk and that she would call him the next day. At least she now had the perfect excuse to cancel on him.  
Jenna grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge, opened them and made her way back into the lounge to plop down on the sofa next to Peter. He obviously hadn't taken a shower and he was still wearing the same clothes that were wrinkled from the drive back from Cardiff. He looked exhausted and still in shock.  
“Here,” she said with a smile while she handed him the bottle, but quickly pulled it back once more. “Oh, you didn't drive here, did you? In that case I could make a coffee or something.”  
“No, uhm, I. . . I walked,” he replied slowly and finally turned his head to look at her. Slowly, as if his reluctance was contagious, she handed him the bottle of beer.  
“What? All the way?!”  
Peter exhaled sharply before he took a large sip. He started at it for a moment, then turned back to face her. “Cissy is pregnant. I-”  
He suddenly broke off and Jenna realized how lost he really looked as if the news had scared the living hell out of him.  
“Do you want to tell me about it?” She smiled at him, but unfortunately it didn't seem to make him feel any better.  
“I couldn't stay in the house. I just had to get out,” he said. “Elaine has known for months. She's met her boyfriend, she knew that Cissy quit university and I didn't have a clue.”  
“What? They didn't tell you?!” Jenna wanted to know, almost gawking at him. She had assumed that Peter and Elaine talked about everything and even though she had only personally met Cissy a few times she could tell that they had a great relationship. It was hard to imagine that his family would keep such a big secret from him.  
Peter went on to tell her about how he had gotten home and found the letter, about how he had confronted Elaine and everything that had happened after and Jenna listened intently, trying to take in every word while also shaking her head at what she was hearing.  
“I had to get out,” he explained with a heavy sigh. “And I couldn't go anywhere else. All my other friends are. . . well. . . _our_ friends. Sorry if I'm imposing on you.”  
“Peter, you're not imposing,” Jenna told him instantly. She placed her hand on his arm and squeezed it softly in an attempt to comfort him. “I understand and you have every right to be mad. Elaine should have told you.”  
“I know!” Peter replied defensively. “I have never kept anything from her, especially not something as important as this. I thought we were a team, but apparently I was wrong. I mean, I can sort of understand it. I was gone for most of the past four years. I was in Cardiff, chasing aliens. Of course they'd learn to live without me.”  
“They have not learned to live without you,” Jenna tried to reassure him. “But yeah, maybe they've gotten used to you not being around so much, but that's not your fault.”  
“Isn't it?”  
“Not at all,” she said strictly. “And it's most certainly not a reason to keep that big a secret from you. Gosh, what's gonna happen now?”  
Peter looked at her for a long moment and then scoffed. “I have no idea,” he admitted. “I don't know if Cissy quit uni for good, if she will eventually go back, I don't know what sort of guy her boyfriend even is. I've never even heard of him before!”  
Even though he still seemed confused and mad at his wife Jenna realized that the initial shock of the news was slowly beginning to fade. He would be fine once he had adjusted to the situation, she was sure of that.  
“You should talk to Elaine,” Jenna told him kindly. “And Cissy.”  
Peter nodded slowly. “Not tonight. I. . . I can't go home just yet. I can't remember the last time I shouted at Elaine.”  
“You can sleep in my guest bedroom for tonight,” she paused before her face turned into a frown, “under one condition.”  
“Which is?” Peter asked, raising his eyebrows.  
“You will tell Elaine where you are. Otherwise she'll be worried.”  
Again he nodded and for the first time since he had stepped through her door Peter granted her a smile. Everything was going to be fine, Jenna was sure of that, and in the meantime she was more than happy to help him out. Peter was one of her best friends and she loved him. She would help him out in any way she could.

Suddenly the door bell rang once more and Jenna looked up and only now she remembered the pizza order she had placed before Peter's spontaneous visit.  
“Fancy some pizza?” Jenna asked him cheerfully.  
Peter breathed a sigh of relief in response. “I'm starving actually.”  
“Good,” she concluded and jumped up from her seat. It was weird how her exhaustion seemed to have vanished in his company. It always did, that was what had gotten her through two years of Doctor Who. “I'll get it. You're lucky I ordered two.”  
When Jenna had paid the delivery guy and returned to the living room she found that Peter's spirit had lifted greatly at the prospect of food and she placed the boxes between them on the sofa before she grabbed the first slice.  
“Mhhh,” she hummed, “this is good.”  
“I should have paid for it,” Peter said thoughtfully before he finally took the first bite. “After all, I'm imposing on you.”  
“Absolutely not. It's my treat,” she insisted and then started to giggle. “You know, because of all the becoming a grandfather.”  
Peter uttered a groan and shot her a dark look. “Thanks for reminding me.”  
Jenna chuckled. “My pleasure,” she said before she added: “granddad.”  
He crinkled one of the napkins in his hand and threw it at her which only made Jenna laugh a little more. He would be fine once he had gotten used to the idea and in the meantime Jenna could enjoy his company for a while longer.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments, cuties :) Peter surely has a lot to think about now. How will Jenna help him?

The bed felt strange and for a moment Peter wasn't sure whether he was home or at his place in Cardiff until the memories of the previous night came back to him at last. Now, in the morning, it felt almost surreal and he felt a little stupid for just running off. But Elaine had lied to him and he was going to be a grandfather.  
No, a part of him still couldn't quite grasp what that was supposed to mean. It seemed like yesterday that he had held Cissy as a baby. It simply wasn't possible for her to have a child of her own already. Grandfather. What did that even mean? Peter remembered his own grandfather very well and he wasn't anything like that. Up until two days ago he had made his living chasing rubber aliens and in his spare time he liked to doodle and play the guitar. He wasn't a grandfather yet. He couldn't be.  
When Peter was beginning to get fed up with his own circling thoughts he finally rose from the bed, only to realize that he the nagging feeling hadn't faded yet. He needed something to occupy himself with and when Peter checked his watch he thought of the perfect way to take his mind off everything else: he would prepare a nice breakfast for Jenna and himself.

As quietly as possible Peter sneaked out of the guest bedroom and into the kitchen and since there was nothing but silence to be heard in the entire house he reasoned that Jenna was still asleep. Under normal circumstances he probably would have had a lie in as well, but right now he couldn't possibly stay in bed for a moment longer. Instead he switched on the coffee maker and opened the fridge where he instantly found all the ingredients he needed to make a delicious omelette. Jenna loved those, as did he, and it seemed like a nice way to say thank you for letting him stay in her guest bedroom for the night.  
“Mhhhh,” he heard Jenna hum after he had just turned the omelette in the pan, “something smells good.”  
Peter turned around and granted her a smile. “Good morning,” he said happily. “Breakfast is almost done.”  
She walked up to the kitchen counter and proceeded to pour herself a cup of coffee. “On second thought, don't talk to Elaine.”  
He frowned at her in return, not really sure what she was implying, but luckily for him Jenna quickly went on to explain.  
“Well, you're making breakfast. As far as I'm concerned you can stay for a while longer,” she said, grinning at him.  
It was then that it hit him, the one condition under which he had been allowed to stay here. Peter was supposed to have called his wife and he had sort of neglected to do so. He hadn't done it intentionally, but last night after the pizza and the beer he had been so exhausted that he had gone to sleep in his clothes. Peter simply hadn't thought about it at all.  
“Oh my God, you didn't call Elaine,” Jenna realized when she looked at him.  
Peter instantly drew the phone out of his pocket, but to his dismay he saw that it must have run out of battery some time during the night and it wouldn't switch back on.  
“Damn,” he cursed, “no battery. Could I borrow a charger?”  
“You can borrow my phone,” she suggested and quickly darted off into the living room to get it, returning moments later to hand the phone over to him.  
Peter felt so nervous all of a sudden and his hands were shaking as he entered his wife's number. She must have been so worried last night and now she would probably be mad at him. Peter couldn't really blame her.  
“I'll leave you to it,” Jenna said and with the coffee mug in her hand she vanished into the living room.

The ringing of the phone seemed endless and for a brief moment Peter considered that Elaine might not answer the phone at all to a strange number, but after what felt like hours he finally heard her familiar voice.  
“Hey Elaine,” he replied meekly, “it's me, Peter.”  
There was a brief silence before his wife spoke again. “Did you lose your phone?” she asked.  
Peter was surprised for a moment. Surprised at how calm she sounded, surprised that she wasn't yelling at him for not coming home last night.  
“Uhm, no, I. . . I ran out of battery,” he stammered. “Sorry. I meant to call you last night.”  
“Are you coming home?” Elaine wanted to know. “Cause Cissy is still here and she wanted to introduce you to Ben.”  
“Uhm,” again Peter spluttered. He had simply left the previous night. He had left and he hadn't come home. Elaine shouldn't be so calm about that. Unless, of course, she was saving the fight for later. “I'll come home straight away. I'm really sorry. I swear, I meant to call you.”  
“Good,” his wife concluded. “Where did you stay? I mean, I'm assuming our friends would have called me.”  
Peter inhaled sharply before he spoke. “Jenna,” he confessed, “I stayed with Jenna.”  
“Give her my best, okay? And see you soon.”  
“See you soon,” Peter replied and a second later Elaine hung up.  
Even after the call had ended he remained staring at the phone for a long moment. It wasn't right, something definitely wasn't right and Peter got the distinct feeling that the real trouble hadn't even started yet. Elaine was probably waiting until after Cissy and her boyfriend had left to give him the lecture of a lifetime. Not that he didn't deserve that. Peter was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even hear Jenna return to the kitchen.  
“How did it go?” she asked him kindly. “Was Elaine very mad?”  
Peter looked up and frowned, still not understanding what had just happened. “She didn't seem mad at all.”  
“That's odd,” Jenna remarked.  
“Yeah,” he breathed in reply before he eventually put the phone back down. “Uhm, thanks for lending me your phone. And for letting me stay.”  
“You're leaving now?”  
Peter smiled at her. “I think Elaine is just saving the lecture for later. I shouldn't test her patience,” he reasoned. He really should go home even though now he felt a little scared to do so.  
The expression on Jenna's face turned into a small pout before she spoke. “You could stay for breakfast,” she suggested. “I mean, you did cook and Elaine now knows where you are. She won't kill you just because of the extra 30 minutes.”  
“I should really go home,” Peter sighed. But he was quite hungry and a part of him thought that Jenna was right. Elaine was probably mad already, 30 minutes more or less would most likely not make that big a difference and the way Jenna was looking at him with her big, brown eyes made it really hard for him to say no. “Alright. I'll just eat quickly.”  
Jenna's face lit up in an instant. “Good, let's have breakfast. I'll set the table,” she replied enthusiastically before she walked across the kitchen towards the cupboard.  
Peter watched as she retrieved two plates and a second mug and thought about how much he would miss her from now on. It hadn't really hit him before, but the Doctor Who era had really come to an end now and unless the stars aligned and he got incredibly lucky, he wouldn't work with Jenna ever again. He consoled himself with the fact that they were still friends and that they would continue to meet for coffee like they had done during the season he had done with Pearl, but the latest Christmas special had proven that he had missed one thing in particular and that was having Jenna around every single day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your comments *big hug*

When Peter stepped back inside his home he did so as quietly as was humanly possible and he paused before he walked into the living room. He could already hear voices chatting happily on the other side of the door and he didn't think he was even the least bit prepared for what was to come. For a moment Peter even wished he was back in Cardiff and about to shoot another season of Doctor Who. He would deal with the stress and the exhaustion, anything but dealing with what was waiting for him behind the living room door. His daughter was pregnant. He was going to be a grandfather. Elaine had kept it a secret from him for months. He had messed up and now his wife was probably very mad at him. No, a part of him just wanted to run away from all of it.  
Peter inhaled deeply and finally reached for the door handle before he stepped inside. His lounge wasn't big and it seemed a little crammed with four people inside of it. He wouldn't run away again, this time he had to face the truth. Elaine smiled kindly while his daughter beamed at him before she jumped up from her seat and instantly crossed the room to say hello.  
“Hey,” Cissy greeted him happily, throwing both her arms around him in a tight hug. It was the first thing that felt right ever since he had come home. His daughter in his arms.  
“Hello sweetheart,” Peter replied and squeezed her a little more tightly.  
He didn't really want to let go of her, yet Cissy soon wriggled out of the embrace and smiled at him. She looked happy, really happy, but when Peter took a closer look at his daughter he could no longer deny the truth. Her baby bump was small, but still painfully obvious. His little daughter had really grown up. Peter wanted nothing more than to turn around and run away.  
“Come on,” she urged him. “I want you to meet Benny.”  
Cissy took him by the hand and dragged him further into the room and towards the sofa where a young man rose to his feet.  
“Dad, this is Benny. Benny, this is my dad,” she introduced them and the pride was audible in her voice, though whether his daughter was proud of him or her boyfriend Peter couldn't quite say.  
When Ben shook his hand Peter instantly determined that it could have been worse. However, it also could have been a lot better. If it hadn't been for the pregnancy Peter might have even liked him, no matter how boring he looked. Ben was probably older than Cissy by a few years and he wore a decent suit. Peter wondered if that was his normal attire of whether he had made an extra effort for the first meeting with both his girlfriend's parents.  
“It's nice to finally meet you, Mr Capaldi. Cissy and Elaine have told me so much about you.”  
“Elaine?” Peter asked, frowning at the young man. His wife had mentioned that she had met him before, but Peter hadn't been aware of the extend until he heard that they were already on first name basis.  
“Yes, your wife,” Ben said with a smile.  
“I know who my wife is,” he deadpanned. It was unbelievable.  
“Peter,” Elaine's voice rang through the room and it sounded a little sharper than usually, “why don't you sit down? I'll make us all a nice cup of tea.”  
“I can do that,” Ben suggested happily.  
“I'll help,” Cissy jumped in and led her boyfriend towards the kitchen, leaving Peter on his own with Elaine.

For a moment he had no idea what to say, but he knew that the first meeting with his daughter's boyfriend wasn't exactly off to a good start. Peter just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that his only daughter was pregnant and he had never even known about her boyfriend.  
“Why didn't you tell me?” he demanded to know once he was alone with his wife. “I should have known. You should have told me and don't say there was no opportunity. I was home on so many weekends, Elaine, I was right here in this room with you and Cissy and neither one of you ever said a word!”  
Elaine sighed heavily. “I told you, I thought it would be better to wait and I stand by that, especially after seeing your reaction.”  
“My reaction?!” Peter raised his voice until his wife shushed him. Cissy and her boyfriend were still in the next room, but right now Peter didn't care what they heard. His wife had kept a big secret from him and he had every right to be mad.  
“You ran off and didn't come home last night!” Elaine argued. “That's a very strong reaction and very unlike you, Peter. I had assumed you wouldn't take it well and I was right.”  
“I ran off because you've been lying to me for months!” he spat. “I thought we were a team! How come you are suddenly calling the shots?!”  
“Well, someone had to over the past few years!”  
Even though the regret was instantly visible on her face there was no way to take the words back now that Elaine had spoken them and for a brief moment Peter didn't even know what to reply. He had thought about it, he had feared it and here was the terrible truth: while he had been playing the role of his lifetime his family had learned to live without him. Were they happy that he was back home? Probably, yes. But did they still need him? Right now Peter felt more like a redundant piece of furniture that they kept out of sentiment than an actual member of this family.  
“Well,” Peter exhaled sharply, “if that's what you think-”  
“I'm sorry, Peter. I didn't mean it like that,” his wife apologized calmly, but Peter had already risen from his seat. He didn't know what else to do.  
“I think I better leave,” he reasoned. “I need a bit of time to think.”  
“Where will you go?” Elaine asked him before a hint of a laugh came over her lips. Peter had to leave, now more than ever, especially because his wife didn't seem to take him seriously at all. What had happened during his time in Cardiff? Whatever it was, it couldn't have been a sudden change. Peter had simply missed the signs. 

The kitchen door opened and Peter looked up to see his daughter step through and back into the living room, closely followed by her boyfriend who was carrying two pots of tea. The young man wore a bright smile on his face.  
“I really liked you in Paddington, by the way,” Ben said excitedly. “My little brother made me go to the cinema with him to watch it.”  
“You should make him watch Doctor Who in return,” Cissy suggested.  
“Honey, you know I'm not really into science fiction.”  
Peter inhaled deeply and stepped further towards the door. It pained him to leave Cissy here without having had the chance to actually talk, but he just needed to get out. It was too much to take in all at once.  
His daughter seemed to have noticed that something was wrong and her face turned into a frown.  
“Dad, is everything alright?” she asked him.  
Peter forced himself to smile. “Yeah,” he lied. “I, uhm, I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?”  
“Dad?”  
He couldn't stand it for another second, not Elaine's disdainful glances, not Cissy's quizzical looks. Peter marched towards the front door, grabbed his suitcase and left before he started to cry.

* * *

“I'm really sorry,” Jenna apologized even though it was a bit of a lie. She wasn't _that_ sorry. “I meant to call you last night, but a friend had a bit of a family crisis and needed someone to talk to.”  
“Was it Sammy?” Tom enquired curiously.  
Jenna took a deep breath and for a brief moment she even considered telling him the truth, but she had a feeling that it wouldn't end well. Tom didn't like Peter, that much had been obvious when she had introduced her boyfriend to Peter that one night in London when they had visited him on the set for the new Paddington movie. Jenna didn't fully understand why because to her it seemed impossible to not like Peter, but Tom obviously had a different opinion on that.  
“Ow!” Jenna faked a howl of pain and knocked against the nearest piece of furniture to get out of answering his question.  
“Jenna, what happened?”  
“Banged my toe,” she lied and winced to make it sound convincing and suddenly she was presented with an even better excuse to change the topic when the doorbell rang. “I'm sorry, Tom, I've got to hang up. There's someone at the door. Call you! Bye!”  
Jenna hung up before her boyfriend could even say another word and walked across the corridor to open the door. She had expected a lot of things – the mail man, a neighbour, a friend, even Tom – but not Peter Capaldi, who was back again after only a few hours. And she also spotted his suitcase.  
“Hey Jenna,” he granted her an apologetic smile. “Does your offer still stand?”  
Jenna smiled at him in response and held the door open a little wider so Peter could step through. “Always,” she replied and she really meant it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments!  
> Now Peter is living with Jenna for the time being, but will that make his problems go away?

“He showed up wearing a suit,” Peter explained and took a sip from his beer. “And he complimented me on my work on _Paddington_ because apparently that's the only thing he's seen that I'm in.”  
“What? Seriously?” Jenna asked him before she stuffed some of the chips into her mouth. “No The Thick Of It? No Doctor Who? Isn't that basically common knowledge?”  
He turned his head and frowned at Jenna, but below his strong eyebrows Jenna could see his eyes glisten with the hint of a smile. “Says the woman who had never watched Doctor Who before she auditioned for it.”  
“I don't count,” she replied immediately. “I was one of the denied generation.”  
“And how's the catching up going? What was the last episode you've watched outside of the new series?” Peter wanted to know and now he was practically grinning at her because he knew her too well. Jenna had been meaning to catch up for ages because, oddly enough, she enjoyed the classic era, but she enjoyed it so much more when she could watch it together with Peter.  
“Uhm,” she hesitated, biting down on her lip and granting Peter an apologetic smile, “Shada?”  
“Hey,” he complained instantly, “that was one we watched together! Don't tell me you forgot about the list I gave you.”  
Peter shot her a slightly hurt glance before he continued to sip his beer and Jenna leaned forward to give him a soft nudge in the ribs.  
“I would never forget about the list,” she argued. “I was saving it until we could get together for another movie night. Do you realize the last one was when we were both living in Cardiff for series 9?”  
“We could have one this week?” Peter suggested hopefully. “I mean, if you can stand having me around for that long. Just tell me when you need me to leave.”  
Jenna scooted a little closer and placed her hand on his leg, giving it a little squeeze. “You can stay for as long as you like,” she reassured him with a smile. “But you should still talk to Elaine and Cissy. I mean, I get that you're mad, anyone in your situation would be, but you can't ignore them forever.”  
“I'm gonna call Cissy first thing in the morning,” he said determinedly, followed by a sigh. “Elaine, however, . . . I think I'm gonna need a day or two to digest everything that has happened. We've been married for so long now and I had always assumed that we were equals, but right now I feel a bit redundant, useless. I'm Cissy's parent just as much as her and I should have known. You know, she wasn't even mad at me for staying here last night? She hardly acknowledged it at all. It's like she has gotten used to me not being around. Part of me just wants to wait until she comes to me to apologize.”  
“I think that's a good idea,” Jenna agreed. “Of course things have changed a little over the past four years and you need to find your way back into your old routine, but Elaine should try to meet you halfway. And like I said, you're welcome to stay here. The guest bedroom is yours.”  
A part of her liked to think that she was offering it to Peter out of the goodness of her heart when in fact in was anything but. She just liked having him around and even though it had been two years Jenna still missed the time that they had spent together in Cardiff. Working together _and_ hanging out as friends. Jenna just missed her friend.

She had hardly noticed that Peter had turned his head to look at her, but then his face turned into a broad smile. “You know, I still think the best part of the job was you.”  
Jenna chuckled in response. “Don't let Pearl hear that.”  
“Pearl doesn't mind. She knows she's great, but your friendship is something very special. Thank you,” he said sincerely.  
Jenna inhaled deeply before a smile spread across her face as well. “Thank _you_ ,” she replied. “Now, let's get on with the gossip. What's Cissy's boyfriend like?”  
Peter sank deeper into the sofa cushions and Jenna watched as he rolled his eyes. “He called her _honey_.”  
“Ugh!” She wrinkled her nose. “I hate that word. Tom calls me that even though I've repeatedly told him to stop.”  
“How is Tom, by the way? I don't think you've mentioned him a lot since you introduced us.”  
“Stop diverting the subject!” Jenna told him in an accusatory tone, mainly because she would talk about a hundred other things before she discussed Tom with Peter. She still thought that their first meeting had been strange even though Peter had obviously not found it so. “Cissy. Boyfriend. Tell me.”  
“I don't like him. Is it okay if I don't like him?”  
“Of course it's okay. You're her father. In fact, I think you're obligated to hate him at first.”  
Peter exhaled sharply and drank his beer. “I mean, it could have been worse. He seems decent enough. Still, I think Cissy could have done better. Maybe I just need to get to know him a little better.”  
“And you will,” Jenna reassured him softly. “Just give it a bit of time. And call her tomorrow.”  
He nodded in response and emptied his beer while Jenna looked at him for a long moment. If it was up to her the reunion with his wife could wait for a few more days because she really didn't mind having Peter all to herself again.

* * *

The phone rang a couple of times and for a while Peter thought that Cissy wouldn't even pick up at all. How odd it must have seemed to her yesterday when he had just taken his things and left, but the more he thought about it the more Peter felt that his decision had been the right one. Jenna was right. Elaine had had no right to keep that kind of secret from him and now it was her turn to apologize. Then, finally, Peter heard his daughter's voice on the other end of the line.  
“Hello sweetheart, how are you?” he asked instantly.  
“Uhm,” Cissy hesitated, “I'm fine. Where are you?”  
With a sigh Peter sank down on the nearest chair in the kitchen. Jenna was still asleep and he had used the moment to phone his daughter in private. “I'm staying in Jenna's guest bedroom. Just for a while.”  
“Why? Are you and Mum okay?”  
“Yes, absolutely,” Peter reassured her. “I mean, we will be.”  
“Are you sure?”  
Peter's heart sank a little when he realized how worried Cissy was and a part of him wanted to go back home straight away just to ease her mind, but he would talk to Elaine in due time, he would come home. Just not right now.  
“Listen, Cissy, you're an adult now and I don't want to lie to you. I was very hurt that your mother decided not to tell about-” Peter broke off, still unable to say it. His daughter was pregnant. He would be a grandfather in just a few months. “About you.”  
“Are you mad because we're keeping the baby?” she asked.  
“No! Absolutely not!” he insisted. “And I'm not blaming you. It was your mother who decided not to tell me about it. Or about Ben. I'm not mad at you, I'm not mad about the baby. I'm only mad at your mother because she decided to keep it a secret from me.”  
“I'm sorry,” Cissy apologized meekly.  
Peter smiled even though his daughter couldn't see it. “Don't be, sweetheart. It's not your fault and we'll be fine. Just give me a few days to sort it all out, okay?”  
“Okay.”  
“Now, tell me. This Ben, is he good to you?” Peter wanted to know.  
“He's the best,” Cissy said and he thought he could hear her smile through the phone. “We're gonna move in together soon and he's already prepared the nursery. He's not really good at handiwork things, but his father helped him out. It turned out really cute.”  
“Boy or girl?”  
Cissy chuckled. “I know it's a bit old fashioned, but we decided that we don't want to know. I kinda like the idea of it being a surprise.”  
“Are you happy?” he wanted to know.  
“Yes,” Cissy confirmed. “I mean, it wasn't planned and it came as a bit of a shock at first, but yeah, we're both happy.”  
Peter cringed a little even though he couldn't quite explain why. Just the idea of his little daughter having a baby. . . it wouldn't quite sink in.  
“That's, uhm, that's good. But what about school? I thought you loved it.”  
“I do and I'm absolutely gonna go back after the baby is born. It's just that I probably wouldn't be able to finish this semester anyway and there's still so much to do with the flat and so much to organize.”  
He breathed a sigh of relief that he was sure Cissy could hear on the other end of the line. She laughed in response. “Don't worry, Dad. We've thought this through. Ben has a good job and he's gonna get us through until I've graduated. And Mum already said that you're both going to support us.”  
“I'm not worried!” he argued defensively.  
“Yes, you are,” Cissy chuckled.  
“Yes, I am,” Peter admitted heavily. “You'll tell me when you're ready to move, right? I'll help as much as a can.”  
“I will,” his daughter confirmed happily. “I've got to go now. Ben made breakfast and he's looking hungry.”  
“Say hi from me,” Peter replied before he thought of something else. “And make him watch Doctor Who. I don't care if the baby is going to be a boy or a girl, if it's not a geek he or she will not be in the will.”  
Cissy laughed in response. “I will give my best. Bye!”

Peter hung up and felt as if at least a part of the weight had dropped off his shoulders. Cissy was happy. Cissy was going to go back to university. The rest Peter would have to deal with somehow. How was he going to do that? How was Elaine doing it? Their little daughter was growing up and Peter had no idea what that even meant.  
The kitchen door opened carefully and Jenna stuck her head through the crack, smiling at him. His spirits lifted a little the moment he looked at her face.  
“Good morning,” she said. “I heard you were on the phone and didn't want to interrupt. How did it go?”  
“It went well, I think,” he replied. “How about I make breakfast and tell you everything over a nice omelette? I'm starving!”  
Jenna giggled as she stepped through the door and into the kitchen. “You're gonna fatten me up.”  
“I wasn't able to fatten you up in the two years we spent together in Cardiff,” he argued.  
“That's cause we were running up and down corridors all day long.” She grinned at him before she flipped the switch on the coffee maker. “Alright. Let's have omelette, but tomorrow we'll eat salad.”  
Peter nodded in agreement before he rose to his feet. For months he had wanted to come home, but somehow being with Jenna felt even better, almost like being on a holiday. Elaine could take a few more days to apologize to him and Peter knew he would be fine. Without even thinking about it he stepped forward and closed his arms around Jenna in a tight embrace.  
“Uh,” she uttered in surprise, followed by a laugh, before she hugged him in return. “What have I done to deserve this?”  
“Nothing,” he chuckled. “Just hugging you as long as I still can.”  
Jenna looked up, frowning at him.  
“Well, once I've fattened you up I might not be able to fit my arms around you.”  
“Silly man,” Jenna giggled and Peter pressed her a little more tightly against his chest. He had no idea how she did it, but with her all of his worries seemed smaller, a little further away. In Jenna's company he could forget about his troubles for a while longer.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What was that you all said? You want trouble? XD
> 
> Thank you for the comments! And yes, there is more Peter and Jenna cuteness to follow, I promise!

“How does this thing work?” Peter's voice came from the kitchen and when Jenna leaned back on the sofa and glanced into the other room she could see him in front of the microwave with a puzzled look on his face.  
“Like any normal microwave works. Turn the knob until it says 2 minutes and 30 seconds and then press it,” she called out to him. “If the popcorn starts popping, you've done it right.”  
“And if it doesn't?”  
Jenna was about to answer and tell him that even Peter couldn't possibly mess up that badly when the doorbell rang through the silence and interrupted her thoughts.  
“Do you want me to get it?” Peter asked her.  
“No, it's fine,” she sighed as she struggled to get up from the sofa. She had already gotten comfortable and ready for her movie night with Peter and she thought that whoever was in front of the door had a really, really bad sense of timing. “I'll get it.”

Jenna crossed the corridor and reached for the door handle, prepared to tell whoever was in front of the door to go away, but when she finally opened it she stared right into Tom's face. Tom. Her boyfriend. The one she had meant to call almost a week ago.  
“Tom,” she spluttered in surprise.  
“Hey,” he smiled at her. “Can I come in?”  
“Uhm,” Jenna hesitated and thought about Peter, who was currently standing in her kitchen. It would be a bad idea to let Tom in, a very bad one. Not knowing what else to do Jenna faked a cough.  
“Oh, are you sick?” Tom wanted to know immediately.  
“Yeah,” she croaked, followed by some more coughs. “Been sick all week.”  
“Well,” he said and to her dismay Tom leaned against the doorframe, looking as if he had no intention to leave any time soon, “I could take care of you, if you like.”  
“That's sweet,” she forced a smile, pretending to sniff, “but I was just on my way to bed. How about I call you in a few days? When I'm better?”  
Tom laughed in response. “What's the point of having a sweet, caring boyfriend if he's not here to take care of you when you're sick?”  
Jenna sighed and for a moment she forgot she was supposed to be sick before she pretended to have another coughing fit. “Tom, I really appreciate it, but like I said I was just on my way to bed. Besides, I'm probably contagious. No need to give it to you as well.”  
Suddenly Jenna was startled by the loud noise of popcorn in the making and she quickly coughed once more to cover it up, praying that it would work and that Tom wouldn't notice.  
“Was that popcorn?” her boyfriend wanted to know and tried to look past her into the house.  
“That was the telly,” Jenna lied, leaning to one side to block Tom's view even though it was slightly pointless given her size. “Which I'm gonna switch off now because I'm going to bed. Call you soon?”  
For a moment Tom looked as if he was going to protest, but eventually he sighed and granted her a smile. “Yes. Get better soon, okay?” he said and leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. 

Jenna uttered a long sigh of relief once she had closed the door behind Tom and for a brief moment she wondered why she couldn't have just told him the truth. There was nothing wrong with letting a friend in trouble stay in her guest bedroom for a while, there was nothing wrong with spending time with said friend, but it was Peter and for some insane reason Tom didn't like him. If only Jenna knew why.  
“Was that you coughing?” Peter asked from inside the kitchen.  
“Yeah, I, uhm,” she paused. If she told Peter that she had sent Tom away, she would have to explain why and she would have to confess that Tom didn't like him. There was no need for that now, not when he already had enough on his plate. “I swallowed an insect.”  
A short moment later Peter appeared in the doorway, a proud grin on his face as he held up the bowl of popcorn. “I succeeded.”  
“Great,” Jenna responded and even to her it sounded a little false. She needed to stop thinking about Tom for now and instead focus on Peter. “All set for Classic Who then.”  
Peter nodded with a smile and then turned around to walk towards the lounge while Jenna followed him reluctantly, her guilty conscience nagging her all the way. Lying to Tom was one thing because she was only trying to spare both of them the unnecessary argument, but lying to Peter was another matter entirely. She hated it.  
“Who was at the door?” he enquired casually as he sank down on the sofa and stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth.  
“Stop eating that when we haven't even switched on the telly yet,” she scolded him and slapped his hand out of the bowl.  
“Sorry,” he mumbled with his mouth full, then swallowed. “So, anything important?”  
“What do you mean?” Jenna asked, looking up at him.  
“Whoever was at the door,” Peter replied and reached for the remote before he sank deeper into the sofa cushions.  
“Uhm, no, just,” she paused, looking for a plausible lie. Why did she even need to lie to Peter? Because he already had enough to worry about, because she didn't want to open a discussion about why her boyfriend disliked him. “No, just a neighbour, asking whether I need him to water my plants again. So, what's on tonight?”  
Peter turned around and grinned at her. “Trial of the Time Lord,” he explained proudly, “with Colin Baker. You'll like it.”  
Jenna's gaze turned towards the large DVD box that looked as though it would take a day to watch all of it. “Surely we're not gonna watch all of them tonight?”  
“No,” he said and all of a sudden his face took on a more serious expression. “I'm helping Cissy with the move tomorrow morning. Gotta get up early.”  
“Is Elaine gonna be there?”  
Peter remained silent for a long moment and Jenna watched his gaze wander around the room as if he was trying to find a suitable distraction. Obviously he failed to find one because short while later he sighed heavily. “I suppose so,” he replied. “I have no idea what to say to her. The more I think about it the angrier I get. She texted me again today, but still not even a hint of an apology.”  
Jenna frowned at him as she watched him closely. For as long as she had known Peter he and Elaine had been a dream team and she had even envied them both for their strong, loving relationship. She would have never expected Elaine to do such a thing and not apologize afterwards. It seemed unlike her, unlike them. But then again, Jenna only knew what Peter had told her about his marriage – which was nothing but praise for Elaine.  
“You guys will be okay, right?” she asked gently.  
Peter turned his head and eventually smiled. “Of course. But in over 25 years of marriage,” he paused. “Feels like a fight like this was overdue. Now, be a good friend and distract me, okay?”

Jenna beamed at him in response before she switched on the telly and hooked her arm into his, resting her head on his shoulder. The episode started to play and slowly she could feel Peter relax next to her. Surely the issues with his wife and the idea of becoming a grandfather were weighing heavy on his mind, but she would be exactly what he needed her to be: a good friend, if not the best.  
“Do you miss it already?” she asked quite out of the blue.  
“Miss what?”  
“Being the Doctor,” Jenna explained.  
Peter scoffed softly, followed by a shy laugh. “You know, I think the truth hasn't really sunk in yet,” he explained, “but I do miss the two years we've had together.  
Jenna inhaled deeply in response. “Yeah, me too.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your sweet comments! Please keep them coming! I've been ordered bed rest and could use some cheering up :/
> 
> Now, Peter is going to meet Elaine. How will that go?

Peter parked his car in front of Cissy's old flat and took a deep breath. It seemed like yesterday that he had helped her move some furniture and her more important things here a few days before she had started university. Even then Peter had been sad to see his little girl leave home despite the fact that the flat she shared with friends was practically around the corner. Now she was going to move in with her boyfriend at an age where Peter had still doubted he would ever find a woman mad enough to stay with him.  
His thoughts wandered back to Elaine and what had happened during the last week and suddenly it made him a little sad. They had been together for so long now and of course they had fought before, but somehow it felt different this time. He just couldn't understand why Elaine had felt the need to keep Cissy's pregnancy a secret for so long and the fact that she didn't even feel the need to apologize just hurt him more deeply.  
Peter suddenly jerked up in his seat when someone knocked on his car window and he turned around to look straight into his wife's face.  
“Are you hiding in the car to get out of helping your daughter?” she asked casually and the tone of her voice only fueled his anger.  
Peter reached for the handle and opened the car door, stepping outside to be at eye level with her. “I told Cissy I would help, so I'll help. Why would you assume I was trying to get out that?” he asked sharply.  
Elaine looked at him as she blew the air out between her teeth. “I was joking, okay? It was a joke. Why are you being so touchy about this?”  
Peter had come here with the best intentions, he really had and he couldn't even understand why everything Elaine said just pushed his buttons even more. He wasn't the type to fight or to hold a grudge, but the truth was that he was really, deeply hurt by what his wife had done.  
“I'm waiting for an apology,” Peter explained and then sighed. “I've thought about it, I've tried to understand why you kept it a secret from me and I still don't get it. I'm just as much her parent as you and you had no right to keep this from me.”  
To his surprise Elaine laughed and somehow it sounded a bit like relief. “That's it?” she asked him. “That's all you want? An apology?”  
Peter only stared at her.  
“Fine, I'm sorry,” Elaine said. “Are you gonna come home now because, frankly, it's getting a little ridiculous.”  
“ _Ridiculous?!_ ” he gawked at his wife.  
“Can be please not have a domestic in the middle of the street?!”  
“I'll stop as soon as you've told me what it is about me that you suddenly find so ridiculous!” he spat angrily.  
“Sulking and living with your younger co-star, that is ridiculous for a man your age. I thought it was for the best to give you some time to come to your senses, but it's got to stop now.”  
For a moment Peter felt too stunned to say a word. He had always admired Elaine for her spirit, he had always needed her to tell him when he was acting like an idiot, but not now. Right now he felt betrayed by his own wife who didn't even seem sorry about it at all, despite her apology.  
“And before you accuse me any further, Peter, maybe ask yourself one question: why did you never notice? Why should I be the one to have to tell you that your own daughter is pregnant?!”  
He opened his mouth in reply, but all of a sudden the words got stuck in his throat. Elaine was right. She was absolutely right. He had been absent for most of the last four years, he had practically missed his daughter growing from a teenager to a young adult. He had talked to her, yes, but had he ever truly asked? Right now Peter felt so confused that he couldn't even remember. Shouldn't he have asked whether there was someone in her life, whether she was in a serious relationship instead of assuming that Cissy would let him know?

“It's okay, Peter,” Elaine said, her voice calmer now. “You've been busy, you've been doing the job you've wanted ever since you were a little kid, so of course you weren't around as much. That's fine, it really is.”  
Then his wife raised her index finger at him as a warning. “But don't tell me you're mad because I've kept something from you. Don't tell me you're mad because you're right, you're just as much her parent as I am and you could have asked her any time.”  
Peter huffed in response. “You told her not to tell me, remember?”  
“Yes, because I couldn't have you freak out while you still had to play the Doctor. You're lucky the press hasn't caught wind of any of this yet because they would have a field day knowing that you've moved in with Jenna.”  
“I have not moved in with her!” Peter barked at his wife. “I'm staying in her guest bedroom!”  
“Peter, please, just come home now,” Elaine sighed heavily.  
For a moment he even considered it, but there was still so much resentment, so much he had to think about. Now wasn't the time because Peter knew that once he came home the fight would continue. “No,” he growled. “I think I'd rather be ridiculous for a while longer.”

Peter spun around on his heels and headed inside the building. Cissy's flat was only on the second floor, but his knees were already aching at the mere thought of carrying heavy boxes downstairs.  
“Dad! Mum!” Cissy greeted them with a smile once he had stepped through the open door, Elaine following him on his heels. “You made it!”  
“Of course we did, sweetheart,” Elaine replied in a surprisingly friendly manner given their earlier fight and gave their daughter a peck on the cheek. “Have you finished packing?”  
“Almost,” she said. “Ben should be back any moment. He's already brought some of the boxes to our flat.”  
“Good, that's. . . uhm. . . that's good,” Peter said only to get a word in as well. “We can load up my car next.”  
“Sounds like a plan,” Elaine agreed and turned towards the bookshelf. “Now, I'm assuming these still need packing?”  
Their daughter agreed and when they both set out to empty the shelf into the nearest box Peter couldn't help but watch his daughter. Her pregnancy was even more obvious now in the dress she was wearing and Elaine's words rang through his head once again. He had been so mad at her, so eager to blame his wife for keeping it a secret, but what if it wasn't even her fault at all? Maybe Elaine was right – he could have asked her. And being in Cardiff and working on Doctor Who was certainly not an excuse to neglect his family.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here comes another group hug for my faithful readers! Thank you so much for the comments and making my day with them <3

Jenna glanced up from her book and her gaze wandered to the window while she sighed. The weather seemed too beautiful to waste the day inside the house and right now she felt like going out to get a coffee and maybe a piece of cake. While she was still debating what to do the front door opened and Peter stepped back inside the house. However, he wasn't quite alone. In one hand he was carrying a guitar case, a bag in the other.  
“Didn't go so well with Elaine?” she asked sympathetically.  
Peter merely shook his head, the expression on his face one of sadness and defeat. “Hope you don't mind that I brought my guitar,” he said. “Cissy and Elaine went out for coffee and I figured I should use the moment the house is unoccupied.”  
Jenna granted him a smile. “Not at all. You know that I love hearing you play,” he said. “But while we're on the subject of coffee. Fancy going for a little walk?”  
Peter exhaled sharply and set the guitar and bag down in her corridor. When he came back up he gave a shrug. “Sure, why not.”  
“Great,” Jenna determined and jumped up from the sofa. “We'll go for a walk, get coffee and cake and you can tell me all about your day.”  
Finally, at the mention of cake and coffee, Peter's face lit up a little. “That sounds like a good idea.”

Jenna grabbed her jacket and together with Peter she headed out of the house and down the street to her favourite café. For a moment she was a little worried that maybe they would be spotted together by paparazzi and that maybe Tom would see these photos in the papers and demand to know why she was going out when she was supposed to be at home and sick, but Jenna hadn't actually encountered any people with cameras around here lately. The journalists had been all over her and Tom for long enough, but since she was still refusing to outright tell anyone whether they were in a relationship or not, their interest in them had slowly died down. Going out with Peter must seem even more boring to them – just two old co-stars going out for a coffee. That wouldn't get them a lot of recognition.  
To her disappointment the café was crowded and Jenna reasoned that a lot of other people had decided to use the wonderful weather as well, so all they could find was a table among the chatting masses.  
“I should probably save my story for later, mh?” Peter suggested and opened the menu.  
Jenna watched his eyes light up at the prospect of food and she felt glad that whatever had happened between him and Elaine hadn't put him off his appetite. As long as he was still hungry it couldn't possibly be that bad.  
“Probably a good idea, yeah,” she replied and in turn opened her menu as well. Chocolate cake seemed like a really good option right now. Chocolate cake and the largest cup of coffee they sold.  
When the waiter stopped at their table to take their order Jenna wasn't even surprised when Peter chose the exact same things and shortly after they were both taking the first large mouthful of the delicious cake.  
“This is amazing,” Jenna remarked. “Just what I needed right now.”  
Peter chuckled in response. “Yeah,” he agreed, but something about his expression seemed sad despite his smile. “My agent sent me a couple of scripts yesterday, told me to have a look at them to see what I wanna do next.”  
“Uh, I love getting scripts,” she replied, sipping her coffee. “Are they any good?”  
He smiled at her. “I don't know yet. I thought you might like to have a look at them together. I could cook us a nice dinner, I don't know, tomorrow? The day after?”  
“Stop fattening me up!” Jenna complained playfully. “They'll kill me if I no longer fit in my corset next month.”  
“Fine, I'll prepare us a salad then,” he replied with a smirk.

There was no way to talk Peter out of paying for the coffee and cake when they prepared to leave as he was insistent to thank her for letting him stay in her guest bedroom for a while longer. Jenna didn't tell him, but secretly she was a little too happy about the fact that he was going to stay in her house for a little more. She just loved having him around, she loved not having to sit on her sofa alone in the evening, she loved the fact that he continued to make her breakfast even though she had repeatedly told him to stop. Jenna also realized that she couldn't possibly hide it from Tom for much longer, but how she was going to break the news to him was a worry for another day. For now it was Peter's worries that she decided to focus on.  
The streets and paths were growing quieter as they walked through the nearby park and Jenna pointed towards a set of swings on an empty playground. Peter nodded, understanding instantly, and they both sat down on the swings.  
“So,” Jenna said after a moment, “how did it go?”  
Peter pushed himself off the ground with his feet and when Jenna attempted to do the same she realized that she could barely reach the sand with her toes. How on earth were children supposed to use these? When Peter noticed her struggle he started to laugh.  
“Who invented these?” Jenna complained.  
“Let's face it, Jen,” he chuckled, “London's kids are taller than you.”  
“Shut up,” she growled, but was hardly able to hide her laugh when Peter continued to grin at her.  
“Not really threatening, coming from a dwarf.” He shrugged.  
Jenna shot him a dark glance. “Shut up, _grandpa_.”  
Peter hissed playfully, but eventually his features grew serious again and after a sigh he finally started telling her all about what had happened today. The public fight with Elaine, everything she had said to him, his doubts about being a bad father.  
“Okay, stop it right there,” Jenna interrupted him after a moment. “You are not a bad father and I am certain that Cissy would back me up on this.”  
“But Elaine isn't exactly wrong. I could have asked her any time and I didn't.”  
“No, she _is_ wrong,” Jenna argued. “You and Cissy have a wonderful relationship, one that is build on trust. You trusted her to come to you with important matters.”  
“Yes, but she didn't,” Peter replied and he sounded a little angry. “She went to Elaine first.”  
“Peter, listen to me,” she said sincerely and leaned over to look at him. “You have nothing to feel guilty about, okay? You were away a lot in the past few years, true, but that job was your dream and your family encouraged you to do it. Don't ever regret doing that just because you and Elaine are currently going through some issues.”  
“I still feel like I should have known, like I should have noticed sooner.”  
Jenna shook her head, smiling. “Women are very good at hiding things, trust me,” she told him and right now she was speaking from experience. She was hiding Peter from Tom. She was hiding the fact that Tom disliked him from Peter.  
“It's why they felt the need to hide it that bothers me.”  
“Stop feeling guilty,” Jenna told him strictly. “What Elaine did wasn't okay and it's even more unfair to drag your daughter into this. I mean, I can sort of understand why she waited to tell you, but to not feel the least bit sorry even after realizing that you're hurt is just not right.”  
Finally Peter looked up and granted her a shy smile. “So you're fine with letting me stay for a bit longer?”  
“Absolutely,” Jenna confirmed. “You can stay until you've sorted this out. I'm sure Elaine will realize why you're mad and apologize for real in due time. Until then I'll have my own personal cook.”  
Jenna grinned at him and finally Peter laughed as well. Then, to her surprise, he got up from his swing.  
“Where are you going?” she wanted to know before he vanished behind her back. A moment later she was suddenly propelled forwards. “Uh!”  
“Hold on tight,” Peter said while he gave her swing another push. “Can't keep watching your misery any longer.”  
Jenna giggled when Peter sent her swing flying through the air and for a moment she thought that even if some paparazzi happened to take a photo of this, at least it would make a funny story in the newspapers.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you both for your kind reviews :) And even though their little scene might not end up in the newspapers, they're still in a lot of trouble. . . or will be ;)

“No,” Peter growled and closed the script after only having read the summary. So far they had only been through three possible options and he hadn't like any of them. Not even one bit.  
“Yeah,” Jenna sighed next to him. “To be fair, that one sounded a bit. . . trashy.”  
Peter chuckled and turned his head to look at her. “A bit?”  
She laughed in response. “Quite a big bit.”  
Despite the quality of the scripts – or the lack thereof – reading them with Jenna was a lot of fun. They judged them, they tried them out, reading them to each other to see if it worked, they laughed a lot. Originally the plan had been to read them over dinner, but soon they had discarded the laptop, fearing they would probably spit their food and drink everywhere from all the laughing.  
“Hey, that one sounds like you,” Jenna remarked and turned the laptop towards him, grinning mischievously.  
Peter frowned at her before he bent forward, pushed his glasses further onto his nose and read the summary. “ _An aging psychiatrist is thrown into a midlife crisis. He quits his job to find a new goal in life – making children happy by dressing up as a clown._ What?!”  
Jenna giggled in response.  
“I am not having a midlife crisis,” he argued. “And I will most certainly not dress up as a clown for my next role.”  
“Mh, not even if it's Victoria's court jester?”  
Peter scoffed. “From childhood hero to clown. No, I don't think I want to sink so rapidly. Isn't here anything good in there at all?”  
“You haven't even read this script. You never know, it might be quite entertaining,” she suggested and this time she even sounded sincere.  
But Peter shook his head. “I want to do something meaningful, something good, something-”  
“Like Doctor Who?” Jenna enquired and gave him a knowing smile.  
He let his shoulders sink with a sigh. No role could ever match up to playing the Doctor, not now, not for the rest of his career. It had been his peak and now he could only go backwards, but that didn't mean Peter had to accept the first silly role that he could get his hands on. “I've played good roles before. Malcolm Tucker. Randall Brown. The Cardinal. They were all really good characters in really good shows. This-,” he broke off, pointing towards the laptop screen, “this doesn't even compare.”  
Jenna chuckled softly and scooted a little closer before she laid her arms around his shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze. “You'll find the right part, I'm sure of it. Just take your time. It's not like you're in dire need of the money,” she told him. “Besides, you should take a break, go on holiday.”  
“What? On my own?”  
She released him from the embrace and sat back down in her seat.  
“We wanted to go on holiday, Elaine and I,” he explained heavily. “Somewhere nice and warm. But I can't even stand to go home right now. Everything's just not going according to plan and in the meantime I need something to do.”

Peter watched as Jenna opened her mouth, but all of a sudden her phone rang through the silence, cutting her off before she even had a chance to say anything. She checked her phone and for a brief moment Peter thought he saw her roll her eyes.  
“I have to take this,” she explained and reached for the device. “I'll be right back.”  
While Jenna took her phone and vanished into the next room Peter sank back against the sofa cushions and considered his options. He could continue to go through the scripts on his own, read one boring part after the other, or he could do something else. He didn't want to disturb Jenna's phone call by playing the guitar, so instead he reached for his sketchbook and pencil and opened a random page.  
If anyone were to find this book they would surely not believe it belonged to a 59 year old man and somehow the thought of that made Peter smile. It was filled with doodles and drawings of Daleks and Cybermen and when he turned back a few pages he also found an awkward drawing of his Doctor and Clara on the Orient Express. Peter had doodled that months ago after coming home from a long shoot and while talking on the phone to Jenna. He couldn't quite say why he had chosen that particular setting, but for some reason he had remembered how beautiful she had looked in that episode. However, one little detail that bothered him now was that Peter didn't think he got her face even remotely right.  
After he had turned to a new, empty page Peter set the pencil down and started sketching the outlines of Jenna's face. Her expressive eyebrows, her large, dark eyes, the cute, little nose, her smile and the dimples in her cheeks that showed when she laughed with all her heart. Finally, when he had moved on to her hair, Peter heard the door to the living room open again and Jenna stepped back inside.  
“Sorry about that,” she apologized and granted him a quick, if a little nervous looking smile.  
“It's fine. Anything important?” he asked, but he never got an answer to that.  
As she stepped closer to the sofa Jenna's eyes fell on the sketch book in his hands and her mouth fell open when she recognized herself on the paper.  
“Oh my God,” she uttered and sank down next to him to have a proper look at the drawing. “Did you just sketch that out of nowhere?”  
Peter couldn't hide the smile that spread across his face. It was one of his better works and he felt a stab of pride, knowing that Jenna liked it. “Yes,” he replied.  
Her head shot up and she gawked at him for a moment. It wasn't the first time she had seen him doodle, far from it, but Peter had never actually shown her any drawings he had made of her. “It's amazing,” she told him.  
Peter cleared his throat and nodded towards the book in her hands. “There are a couple more of you in there. Doctor and Clara ones mainly.”

Without hesitation she took the book from his hands and started browsing. A moment later he could hear her laugh. “Not the best of me, this one,” she chuckled and turned the sketch book around.  
Peter glowered playfully. “Shame on you, Jenna-Louise Coleman. Not recognizing an Ice Warrior.”  
Jenna wrinkled her nose at the mention of her middle name and continued to look through his sketches until she came across the Mummy on the Orient Express drawing from a few months ago. “Oh, I like this one,” she remarked with a smile. “You gave me a bit more cleavage though.”  
“Did not,” Peter protested.  
“Oh, yeah, you did,” Jenna chuckled and turned to the next page while Peter was beginning to blush a little. Maybe he had overdone it with the cleavage, he couldn't quite tell. He only knew that he had spent a long time trying not to look at Jenna while she had worn that dress.  
“I really like your sketches,” she said after a while and raised her head to look at him. Then she started to laugh. “Stop blushing! They're really good! Honestly!”  
“Thank you,” he mumbled and swiftly lowered his gaze.  
“You know, if you don't like any of the scripts they sent you and you don't wanna go straight to the next role, you could always do this,” Jenna suggested.  
Peter frowned, looking back up. “Do what?”  
“Draw, paint,” she told him. “Maybe call someone from the BBC and ask if they'd make a book out of it. I'm sure loads of fans would love to buy it. Fanart by the Doctor himself.”  
Peter was ready to dismiss her idea immediately, but the longer he thought about it the more the idea actually appealed to him. He wasn't sure how many people would actually pay money for his works, but just working on a book like that sounded like a lot of fun.  
“You know what,” he said, “I think that's a really good idea. Or I could form another band.”  
Jenna laughed at him for that. “Easy there with the midlife crisis,” she giggled. “You don't have the space for a Ferrari.”  
“I am not having a midlife crisis!” he protested loudly.  
“Yeah, whatever,” Jenna laughed and gave him a friendly nudge. “Wanna show me another episode of Classic Who? You know, gather ideas for your book?”  
“That sounds like another excellent idea,” Peter agreed and in the spur of the moment he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Jenna's forehead. 

Somehow Peter felt as if he had come to exactly right place. Jenna had been his friend from the beginning and only now he was beginning to understand just how much her friendship truly meant to him. All of his other friends would have urged him to go home and talk to Elaine, they would have told him he was acting like an idiot, but not Jenna. She was providing the support that he usually got from Elaine and he needed support now more than anything.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hand if you wanna buy Peter's fanart book *raises hands*
> 
> Thank you so much for the sweet comments. But how about we stir things up a bit now? ;-)

Jenna tottered sleepily towards the kitchen, yawning in the process. In her determination to use her time off work to the fullest she had accidentally stayed up a little too late just to finish reading her book and now she was craving a big cup of coffee. For a moment she contemplated waking Peter as well, but decided that she would switch on the coffee maker first. After all, that was the routine they had established during the past two and a half weeks. Whoever woke up first made coffee and then woke the other.  
However, on her way to the kitchen Jenna's feet were suddenly caught in something and she could only hold on to the door frame at the very last moment before falling to the ground.  
“Damn,” she cursed instantly and turned around, spotting the culprit in an instant. With a sigh Jenna picked Peter's shirt off the floor and tossed it over one of the kitchen chairs where it could keep his sketch book company. In fact, his things had somehow ended up all over her house in the past two weeks and somehow she felt like she had to remind Peter to clean up after himself every once in a while like an overgrown teenager.  
Shaking her head, Jenna switched on the coffee maker and turned towards the corridor. “Peter! Coffee is done!”  
The coffee wasn't exactly done yet, but by now she knew him well enough to know that he would need a few more minutes to actually appear in the kitchen and she was right.

After a while Jenna heard the door open, then his footsteps and then, finally, Peter appeared in the doorway, yawning and ruffling his already unruly hair.  
“Mornin',” he mumbled sleepily.  
Jenna's first instinct when she spotted him was to look away immediately. Peter wasn't wearing much. In fact, he was only wearing his underpants and nothing more, but somehow Jenna couldn't tear her eyes away. Peter always put himself down, always made fun of his age, his looks, but in truth he had absolutely nothing to worry about. His chest was pale, as if his Scottish skin had never seen the sunlight, but Jenna noticed that it was quite toned from the recent exercise. The beard he had grown over the last weeks and the framed glasses only added to the charm.  
“Didn't you say coffee was done?” he asked and Jenna instantly snapped out of it. It was only Peter. She had seen him shirtless before on multiple occasions.  
“Uhm, in a minute,” she replied. “Don't you wanna put some clothes on?”  
Peter blushed in an instant and opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out of it at first. That sheepish look was downright adorable on him. “Uhm, I can't.”  
Jenna chuckled. “What do you mean, you can't?”  
He bit down on his lower lip and averted his eyes. “I may have forgotten. . .”  
The rest of his sentence was little more than mumbling, but still Jenna understood him perfectly and it made her burst into laughter for real. “I'm sorry, did you just say you forgot to do the laundry?”  
Peter looked back up at her, trying his best to glower at Jenna, but still it made her laugh only harder.  
“Hold on, stay exactly like this,” she chuckled and jumped up from her seat to dart off into the living room. She grabbed her Polaroid camera because it was the first thing she could get her hands on and before Peter could hide or turn away she snapped a photo of him. “Peter Capaldi, 59, forgot to do his laundry and ran out of clean clothes to wear,” Jenna laughed and slipped the photo into the pocket of her robe.  
“Hilarious,” he growled at her. “Can I use your washing machine?”  
Jenna giggled. “What will you do if I say no?”  
In response he only shot her a dark glance.  
“Yes,” she agreed, still laughing. “Of course you can use it.”  
“Good,” Peter said and sank down on the nearest chair until he realized that it was already occupied by his shirt and sketch book. Jenna could see that for a brief moment he considered putting the shirt on before he obviously remembered that he had spilled cheese dip on it the night before. Instead he discarded it on the next chair. “Any chance I might also get the polaroid?”  
“Nope,” Jenna shook her head while she switched off the coffee maker and poured them both a cup. “I'm keeping that for blackmail.”

Jenna took the seat next to him and they both sipped their coffee in silence for a while. Normally one of them would have made breakfast as well, but since they had noticed the night before that they had run out of all the basic groceries, the only options left were a café or the supermarket.  
“Is there anything specific from the supermarket that you need?” she asked him, sipping her coffee.  
“I could come with you.”  
Jenna raised her eyebrows and purposefully let her gaze wander down his body.  
“On second thought, I should probably do the laundry first,” he replied.  
“Good plan,” she said, “and maybe clean up some of your things?”  
“Yes, yes,” Peter sighed, “I get it, I'm a slob. The place will be sparkling when you get back.”  
With a smile Jenna rose back to her feet after she had emptied her coffee mug. “You're not a slob. You just like a bit of creative chaos that occasionally gets out of hand. I'll just take a shower and then you can have the bathroom and washing machine all to yourself.”

Jenna closed the bathroom door behind her and discarded her bathrobe, trying very hard to ban that image of Peter from her mind as she stepped under the shower. Somehow it felt a little wrong to admire his body, but then again, he had willingly walked into her kitchen in only his underwear, so he must have known that she would see him. Was it okay to find her friend attractive? It wasn't as if Jenna would ever attempt to act on that attraction in any way. Peter was married and she was in a relationship with Tom, so naturally there would never be anything but friendship between them. But wasn't it still a tiny bit wrong to think he was sexy?  
The ringing of the door bell interrupted her thoughts and Jenna groaned at the prospect of having to leave the warm comfort of her shower to see who was disturbing her so early, but still she turned off the water and reached for her robe.  
“I'll get it!” she heard Peter's voice from the corridor and suddenly she felt a twinge of panic. Peter wasn't dressed. She didn't know who was in front of her door. Jenna couldn't let him answer it.  
“No!” she called out to him. “Peter, wait!”  
Jenna hadn't even properly fastened the belt around her robe when she darted out onto the hall, her wet feet slipping on the floor, but she had to do everything in her power to stop Peter from answering that door.  
Her heart sank when she turned around the corner and realized that she was far too late as she stared into Tom's puzzled face. His eyes wandered from Peter's underpants towards her and she did her best to tighten the robe around her body, but it was too late. It was obvious from Tom's expression that he had already made all the wrong assumptions.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *monster group hug* Thank you so much for the sweet and lovely and elaborate comments! Did I mention how happy it makes me that you're all enjoying this story?  
> And no worries, Peter and Jenna will not be able to live in harmony forever. One day some things are gonna catch up with them ;-)

Jenna couldn't even find the words to say anything at first as she watched the look on Tom's face, that terrified, disappointed, broken look of horror, and she wrecked her brain for a way to explain this, explain why Peter was here, explain why she had lied to him for weeks, but her mind went blank. She could tell him the truth and only that.  
When Tom turned around and was about to leave Jenna finally found her speech again. “Tom, wait,” she said and moved forward until she was able to grab his arm. He tore himself free in an instant. “Please, come inside and I'll explain.”  
“No, thank you,” he spat. “I don't think this requires an explanation.”  
“Yes, it does,” she argued. “Come inside, please.”  
The look on his face and the hesitation lasted for far too long and when she finally couldn't bear it any longer Jenna reached for his arm once more and pulled him into the hall. The door fell shut behind him.  
“Come inside,” she told him before she turned towards Peter. “And you, put some clothes on.”  
With a sigh Jenna looked back at Tom and she knew that she should feel guilty for having kept Peter a secret from her boyfriend, but she really had just wanted to spare herself the trouble and the discussion that was sure to follow now. “I can explain,” she said. “I never meant to keep this from you-”  
“What?!” to her surprise Tom barked at her. “How long has this been going on, Jenna?”  
“Just two and a half weeks, I swear.”  
Tom struggled free from her grip and scoffed. “I don't know what to say,” he huffed. “I. . . I had feared that this might happen, but. . . he's old enough to be your father!”  
Jenna frowned at him at his last statement and took a step back. “What does Peter's age have to do with anything?”  
Next to her Peter cleared his throat and when she looked at him she noticed that he was awkwardly shuffling his feet. Gosh, he should really put some clothes on, otherwise it would only make this situation even more bizarre than it already was. “Jen, I think there has been a misunderstanding.”  
“What?” she huffed. “What is there to misunderstand?”  
Now Peter looked more uncomfortable than ever as he lowered his gaze to his own two feet. “Jen, Tom thinks we're having an affair.”  
“ _What?!_ ” Jenna almost gasped, but then let out a sound of relief. Of course Tom had assumed the worst and now she could ease his mind. “Oh my God, Tom, no, that's not what this is.”  
“What is it then?” he barked at her. “What reason is there for Peter Capaldi to be in your house in only his underwear?!”  
As calmly as was possible Jenna took a deep breath and pointed towards the kitchen. “Come on, let's just talk in private for a moment.”

Tom slammed the kitchen door a little harder than she had anticipated and Jenna flinched at the sudden noise before she turned around and looked right at him. She couldn't quite place the emotion on his face and maybe there was more than just one. Anger? Fury? Disappointment? Jealousy? Was that why he had disliked Peter from the beginning? Was Tom actually jealous of him?  
“I'm waiting.”  
Another deep breath later Jenna finally began to talk. “Peter is having some issues at home, that's why I've offered that he could stay in my guest bedroom for a while,” she explained quietly.  
“Two and a half weeks?” Tom raised his eyebrows.  
Jenna realized that Tom wouldn't just take a simple explanation, so she pulled up a chair and sat down at the table, gesturing towards him to follow her lead. When he finally sank down on the other chair Jenna continued.  
“Elaine, his wife, did a pretty shitty thing and he's-”  
“Trying to get back at her by sleeping with you?”  
“What?” she frowned at him in disbelief. “Tom, honestly, Peter wouldn't cheat. Not with me, not with anyone else. He's just mad and he needed a place to stay. You know that we're friends, so I offered him the spare room.”  
“Doesn't exactly explain his attire,” Tom scoffed. She could see that he was mad at her and she could even understand why that was, but somehow Jenna needed to make him see reason. She needed to make him understand that that should be the last thing he had to worry about.  
So Jenna did the only thing she could think about. She laughed. “He forgot to do his laundry. Only noticed this morning.”  
Tom raised his eyebrows at her.  
“Seriously, there's nothing going on.”  
For a moment Tom's featured relaxed and she was about to reach out and take his hand when suddenly he leaned backwards and another frown appeared on his face.  
“You still lied to me,” he said and the tone of his voice made it sound like accusation. “You said you were sick. You weren't really sick, were you?”  
Jenna swallowed.  
“Why?” he wanted to know.  
“You don't like him,” she said defensively. “I don't know why, but you don't like him. I didn't want to open up another discussion about Peter because, like it or not, we are friends.”  
He only shook his head in response.  
“ _What?!_ ”  
To her surprise Tom rose from his seat. “Maybe it's the constant lying about Peter Capaldi that makes me not like him,” he spat and Jenna wasn't fast enough to follow him when he turned around on his heels and headed out of the door.  
“Tom!” she called after him, but in response she only heard the front door slam.

Jenna stopped in the middle of the hall and let her shoulders sink with a sigh. There was absolutely no point in going after him right now and she realized that. Tom needed time to calm down before he would be open to any kind of reason. She would call him tonight and ask him to forgive her.  
There was a shuffling noise to her left that made Jenna turn her head and she saw Peter stick his head through the living room door. “Sorry,” he said with an apologetic smile.  
Jenna exhaled heavily, but right now she was glad that Peter was still here to take her mind off the fight. “Not your fault,” she replied. “Nope, that's all on me, I'm afraid.”  
Peter stepped through the door and spread his arms in an attempt to hug her, but Jenna swiftly evaded the embrace. “Eh, sorry, but could you please put some clothes on first cause this is a bit freaky.”  
He looked down on himself, obviously only now realizing that he was still in his underwear and they both laughed at the state of him. There he was. 59 years old, ruffled hair, reading glasses, naked except for his pants and handsome enough to give Tom, her model boyfriend, a scare. What a mess they had both made of their relationships in less than three weeks without ever doing anything wrong.  
“You need to talk to Elaine,” Jenna told him calmly.  
“And you need to talk to Tom,” Peter reminded her.  
Slowly Jenna nodded.  
“Why didn't you tell him I was staying here?” he wanted to know and Jenna watched him cross his arms in front of his chest as he leaned against the wall, eyeing her curiously.  
“Because-” she broke off, inhaling deeply. Why shouldn't she say it now? It was damn obvious already. “Because Tom doesn't really like you.”  
“Mh,” Peter muttered in response, a small frown appearing on his face. But luckily for Jenna Peter didn't ask any more questions. Instead he pushed himself away from the wall. “I should probably get started with the laundry.”  
She nodded. “And I'll get us something to eat.”  
Finally his face lit up again. “Good idea. I'm starving.”  
“You're always starving,” Jenna chuckled in response and turned around to walk upstairs to her room.

When she closed her bedroom door behind herself Jenna reached into the pocket of her robe and drew out the photo she had taken earlier. It was now fully developed, showing Peter in his underwear with a very confused look on his face, standing in the middle of her kitchen. She smiled to herself and placed it inside the book she had finished last night. She would keep the photo, not as blackmail material, but as a reminder of the time Peter had lived with her. She would want a reminder after he had gone home.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG guys :D I love you all so much! I went to bed early yesterday and woke up to no less than 19 comments on my fics, many of them for the last chapter. You're showering me with love here and I want you all to know how much I appreciate it!!! Thank you so much!

The café wasn't too crowded when Peter stepped inside and his face lit up as he spotted his daughter waving at him from a table across the room. He smiled and walked through the room before he greeted Cissy with a kiss on the cheek, noticing with relief that she looked happy. Slowly he was beginning to come to terms with the idea of becoming a grandfather as long as the baby was what his daughter really wanted.  
“Sorry I'm late,” he apologized immediately and sat down on the nearest chair. “I was working on something and didn't realize what time it was.”  
“It's just ten minutes, Dad, it's fine,” Cissy replied kindly. “What were you working on?”  
Peter smiled in reply, but he didn't want to tell her just yet. He had taken Jenna's advice to heart in the last few days and started working on improving his doodles and drawings. Nothing was anywhere near print ready yet and he hadn't even spoken to anyone at the BBC, but the fanart book Jenna had suggested was something he absolutely didn't mind working towards. At least it gave him the opportunity to take his mind off other matters for a while.  
“It's gonna be a surprise,” he replied coyly and granted his daughter a shy smile.  
Cissy raised her eyebrows. “Now I'm curious.”  
Peter sighed. “It's nothing big, just a little something to pass the time. It was Jenna's idea.”  
Her features changed at the mention of Jenna and suddenly Cissy sat up straight and bent forward. She lowered her voice before she spoke, her expression dead serious. “When are you gonna come home?”  
He frowned a little, eyeing his daughter closely. Cissy had inherited something from both of them, but at moments like this she could be so much like her mother that it was almost eerie and Peter realized in an instant what was going on. “Did you mother tell you to ask me?” he demanded to know.  
Cissy sighed and her shoulders sank just a little. That was all the confirmation Peter really needed. He opened his mouth to say something, but his daughter cut him off.  
“She is really cross with you right now.”  
The lines on his face deepened before he leaned back and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Elaine had absolutely no reason to be mad at him and somehow it only strengthened his determination to stay with Jenna for as long as she would allow it. If he went home now there would be argument after argument and Peter knew himself too well to know that he would give in sooner or later. No, it was better to stay away for the time being until they had both cooled off.  
“Well, I'm even crosser with her,” Peter spat.  
“And I think you're both behaving like children,” Cissy told him sternly. “Seriously, is it so bad that you can't even talk to each other?”  
Peter exhaled sharply. She was right, of course. After 25 years of marriage something as small as this shouldn't be able to cause a fight that escalated like this one had, but still Peter felt like Elaine was absolutely in the wrong and that she owed him an apology. As soon as he knew that she was sincere in that he would come home without hesitation.  
“I just want an apology,” he admitted. “A real, honest apology. That's all I ask of her and you can go home and tell her that.”  
“I am not your carrier pigeon,” Cissy replied, her voice cold. The way she looked at him right now instantly reminded him of Elaine again.  
“Sorry,” he sighed. “Of course not. Sorry, I didn't mean to drag you into this.”  
Cissy furrowed her brows slightly, but eventually nodded.

“Enough about me,” Peter announced out of the blue and took a deep breath. He really needed to steer the topic away from Elaine and their fight and back to why he had come here in the first place. “How's the new flat? All settled in?”  
His daughter's face lit up instantly. “Yes,” she smiled at him in response. “It's perfect. Ben and I are gonna go to IKEA next week to pick out some furniture for the nursery.”  
“Isn't that a bit soon? The baby won't be due until when? December?”  
Still Cissy remained smiling. “Ben is very organized,” she explained.  
Peter huffed softly. “I'm trying very hard not to take it personally that you've picked someone who is the complete opposite of your father,” he chuckled and to his relief Cissy laughed with him, but after a moment she grew a little more serious again.  
“I have a feeling that he's going to propose soon,” she said after a while. “And knowing him, he's gonna ask your permission first.”  
His daughter rolled her eyes and Peter wasn't quite sure if it was because she didn't want to marry him or because he was old fashioned enough to want to ask her parents' permission first.  
“So, you're not happy about that?” he asked carefully.  
“I am, I just don't want him to make a big fuss about it,” she argued.  
He chuckled. “So it would be easier if I told him he can't marry you unless he buys you with 10 camels and 30 sheep?”  
“Excuse me,” Cissy gawked at him. “I am worth at least 15 camels.”  
“Yes.” Peter smiled at her. “Yes, you are.”  
“Just give him your blessing when he asks and don't be too embarrassing about it, okay?” his daughter asked and raised her eyebrows at him.  
Embarrassing. Ridiculous. Was that how his family truly saw him? Was that why Elaine had decided to keep his daughter's pregnancy a secret from him, because he was still acting like a child?  
Peter swallowed hard, but eventually nodded. “Of course,” he replied heavily.

* * *

Jenna was reading a magazine when he plopped down on the sofa next to her and somehow this gesture felt almost natural by now. Three weeks. For three weeks he had been living with her and right now Peter couldn't imagine how he was ever supposed to go back to the way things had been before Doctor Who.  
“Am I ridiculous and embarrassing?” Peter wanted to know and lowered his gaze to his hands in his lap. His fingers found his wedding ring and twisted it around his ring finger and only now did he notice that he was still wearing the little stone ring, his Doctor ring, on top of it. It had become a part of him and up until now he hadn't even been aware of it. But he was no longer the Doctor. Now he was only a ridiculous, embarrassing, old man who lived with his younger co-star and drew fanart in his spare time. No wonder his family didn't take him seriously.  
“Do you mean right now or in general?” Jenna chuckled and finally Peter raised his head to look at her. There was something calming about the sight of her beautiful face and somehow it made his heart ache. Why couldn't everything be as easy as the friendship between him and Jenna? So unlikely and yet so natural.  
When Peter didn't respond, Jenna went on. “Everyone's a little ridiculous and embarrassing. The best people are,” she said with a light shrug. “There's nothing wrong with that.”  
Peer nodded simply and then watched as Jenna's face turned into a frown. “Why do you ask? Did Cissy say something?”  
“No,” Peter lied because right now he couldn't talk about what was going on in his head. He knew that Jenna would soften Cissy's choice of words, that she would tell him he had nothing to worry about, but right now Peter didn't want to hear any of that. First he wanted to think about it all by himself. Instead he put on a smile. “Fancy a nice movie?”  
Jenna grinned at him in response, but there was also a look of surprise on her face. “No Doctor Who tonight?”  
“Actually, I haven't been to the cinema in ages. Would you like to go?”  
From the expression on her face Peter could tell that she was at least considering it. “Mh, what will we watch?”  
Peter shrugged. “We could decide when we get there. It'll be my treat.”  
“I'll get my jacket,” Jenna replied, grinning at him before she jumped up from the sofa and vanished into the hall.  
He sighed in relief. The cinema would take his mind off his family and it was also an opportunity to do something nice for Jenna. From now on the evening could only get better.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so, so, so insanely much for the sweet comments!!! I see you're all excited for their cinema "date", so let's just see how that goes, right? ;-)

Her popcorn had been left untouched for most of the movie and Jenna felt a little silly for crying, but right now she just couldn't help it. It was terrible and beautiful at the same time and she cursed and loved Peter for bringing her here. They could have chosen anything, any movie, but no, he had wanted to see the one that was currently making her cry her eyes out.  
Peter's hand gave her own a soft squeeze when the end credits started to roll across the screen and it startled her a little when she realized for how long they had been holding hands in the darkness. But now that the lights came back on he swiftly drew his hand back and Jenna turned to look at him, for a moment forgetting that he'd be able to see her tears. To her surprise she found that she wasn't the only one who had been crying a little.  
“Did you not like it?” Peter asked instantly.  
Jenna granted him a smile. “It was amazing,” she replied truthfully. “Sad, but amazing.”  
He scoffed playfully. “It's just too easy to make you cry.”  
“Hey,” she complained and leaned forward. Jenna raised her hand to his face and gently wiped the remainder of a tear off his cheek. “Don't tease me, _softy_.”  
She sniffed one more time and finally rose from her seat. Since it was the middle of the week and they had chosen a rather unknown movie the cinema was almost deserted and the few people that had actually watched the same film were already heading outside. Peter and Jenna gathered up their things and slowly made their way towards the exit.

The air was surprisingly cool for a summer night when they stepped outside and instinctively Jenna pulled her jacket a little closer around her chest.  
“Did you at least have a good time tonight?” Peter asked her while they made their way towards the car.  
“Yeah, of course I did,” she said and suddenly a shiver ran across her body, something that Peter noticed of course. A moment later she could feel his arm around her shoulder as he pulled her closer and Jenna welcomed his body heat. Of course she was having a good time, she always did when Peter was involved.  
She turned her head, determined to thank him, but as Jenna looked at him under the light of the street lamp all that came out of her mouth was a laugh.  
“What?” Peter asked and he laughed, too, but it sounded a little shy and insecure since he had no idea what she was laughing about.  
She stopped in her tracks and lifted her arm before she pulled a piece of popcorn out of his hair.  
“How on earth did you manage to get popcorn into your hair?” Jenna wanted to know, chuckling.  
That soon turned back into laughter as Peter suddenly bent forward and snatched the piece of popcorn away from her with his mouth. Chewing and grinning, he looked at her.  
“Peter, that is disgusting,” Jenna said, but still she found it impossible to hide how amused she was. “You madman.”  
She gave him a soft nudge, but it wasn't very effective since Peter was still holding onto her waist and all of sudden Jenna became aware that they were still in public. If anyone saw them like this. . .  
Something in the corner of her eye caught her attention and she spun around, but whatever it was, Jenna could no longer see it.  
“What was that?” she asked.  
“What was what?”  
Once more Jenna scanned the pavement across the street with her eyes, but could see nothing even remotely suspicious. It was probably just the light of a passing car and nothing more. She turned her attention back towards Peter.  
“Nothing. Let's go back to the car, okay?”  
“Alright,” Peter responded with a smile and led her towards the parking spot. His arm remained firmly around her back the entire way and Jenna had half a mind to tell him to stop in case someone saw them, but she couldn't really bring herself to do it. She was cold and his touch was warm and she just loved the fact that he was such a gentleman all the time. Every time they went out for coffee or to the cinema or just for a walk to play with their cameras, Peter treated her like a perfect gentleman. That was probably part of the reason she loved him so much.

Jenna wasn't even surprised when they reached the car and Peter suddenly let go of her to jump forward and open the passenger door for her. She granted him a smile and was about to head inside the car when something from across the street caught her eye again.  
“Everything alright?” Peter asked.  
Jenna frowned, but there was nothing across the street at all that looked in any way out of the ordinary. Still she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe someone had taken a photo of them.  
“Do you think there's paparazzi around here?” she asked him in return.  
Peter looked around, but eventually he shrugged. “I don't see anything. Besides, we've only been to the cinema. That will hardly make the headlines.”  
“True,” Jenna agreed and eventually stepped inside the car.

* * *

With a sigh Peter set down the tea that was still too hot to drink and raised his head to have a look around. Jenna's kitchen seemed almost familiar to him now after three weeks and he smiled when his eyes fell on the Police Box sign that had been her farewell present and that she had put up over her kitchen window.  
Somehow Jenna had done it. She had moved on from Doctor Who and instantly found another great role to play in her very own show. All that was offered to Peter were either bad scripts or small parts. But that was the difference, wasn't it? Jenna was young and only at the beginning of her career while his was as good as over now. His success had come late and had been great. Malcolm Tucker. The Cardinal. Doctor Who. There was no way he could possibly move up from here and maybe it was time to accept the fact that he was old and there wasn't really a place for him within the television industry any longer.  
“Stop brooding,” Jenna's voice tore him out of his thoughts as she walked into the kitchen in her robe and a towel wrapped around her hair.  
“What makes you think I was brooding?” Peter frowned at her.  
Jenna shrugged. “The tea in front of you has gone cold and you've been staring longingly at my Tardis decor.”  
Peter chuckled in response. “It's a very nice piece of decor,” he argued. “You can't blame me for admiring it.”  
“Well, I'm off to bed. Don't stay up too long and, above all, stop brooding,” Jenna said and suddenly Peter felt her bend town and leave a short peck on his cheek. The gesture brought a smile to his face.  
“I won't,” he promised. “Sleep well.”  
When Jenna had left the kitchen again Peter glanced at the Tardis sign once more and decided that he could possibly attempt another drawing before he went to bed.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments!!! I see you've all enjoyed the fluff :) But since you all know me by now you know what's gonna happen next. . .

The room was quiet except for the occasional rustling of a book page and the scratching sound of his pencil on paper and somehow Peter liked it that way. Somehow, when he was painting or drawing or doodling, it always had a calming effect on him and it was one of the few things that could actually distract him for long enough to forget about his worries.  
“What are you working on?”  
Peter raised his head and noticed that Jenna had also looked up from her book and he used the moment to compare his drawing to the model in front of him. The posture was right, Jenna curled up in her armchair, the book on her lap, light smile on her lips.  
He smiled at her. “Clara reading in the Tardis,” he replied.  
Jenna chuckled. “How about you put Bill in there for a change?”  
“Unfortunately Pearl isn't modeling for me right now,” he said and raised his sketchbook so Jenna could have a look. “Besides, I drew her yesterday, hitting a Dalek across the head with her essay.”  
Jenna opened her mouth to reply, but her sentence was cut off by the ringing of the door bell. Both Peter and Jenna raised their eyebrows at each other. It was almost 10 and from the expression on her face Jenna didn't know either who could be at the door at this time of night.  
“Tom?”  
Jenna shook her head and rose to her feet. “I don't think so. He hasn't actually replied to my messages lately,” she explained as she made her way towards the door.

When Jenna had left the room Peter once more turned his attention back towards the drawing in front of him. Clara's hair wasn't quite finished yet and while Peter was still undecided on whether to give her book a title or not he suddenly became aware of a looming presence in the living room that hadn't been there before. He was just about to look up and see where it was coming from when a copy of the Daily Mail landed on his lap.  
“Page four,” Elaine's voice said coldly and Peter's face turned into a frown when he looked at her.  
Elaine was one of the last people he had expected to show up here, especially now.  
“Uhm, hi,” he stammered. “Wh-what are you doing here?”  
“Page four,” she repeated. “Read it.”  
Peter glanced from Elaine, who seemed to need a lot of effort to keep her composure, to Jenna, leaning against the door frame. She looked a little frightened. Finally Peter gathered his courage and opened the newspaper, only to find two familiar faces right there on page four. Jenna had been right to assume that someone had snapped photos of them outside the cinema and they couldn't have picked a worse angle. One photo simply showed Peter holding the car door for her, the other, however, looked a lot more compromising. His arm was wrapped around Jenna's waist and he was smiling at her while it looked as if she was touching his face. That had been the moment she had plucked the piece of popcorn out of his hair, but of course it wasn't visible in the picture.  
“Elaine, this isn't what it looks like,” Peter said instantly, but he was only met with a glowering glance.  
“Read it,” she told him.  
With a sigh Peter bent back down to have a look at the article and because Jenna was looking more and more frightened by the minute, he decided to spare her the suspense and started reading it out loud.

**An Affair in Time & Space**  
_Doctor Who actor Peter Capaldi (59) and his former co-star Jenna Coleman (31) have always enjoyed an unnaturally close relationship that had viewers switch off their telly at the unbearable sexual tension between the Time Lord and his companion, who is young enough to be his granddaughter._

“Unbearable sexual tension?!” Peter gawked at his wife. “Are they serious?! Also _granddaughter_?”  
“Read on!”

_Despite constantly reassuring their fans that the relationship between them was purely platonic, Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman can no longer fool anyone as they were spotted leaving the cinema after what looks like a very romantic date. The Doctor Who actor is seen with his arm firmly around his co-star's waist while she is stroking his face, a gesture of intimacy that could only be topped by a public kiss._  
_Peter Capaldi has been married to Elaine Collins since 1991 and they have a daughter together while Jenna Coleman has been keeping quiet about her love life since splitting from Game of Thrones star Richard Madden. It has been rumored that she is in a relationship with her on-screen husband from Victoria, Tom Hughes, but so far neither of them have chosen to comment on the rumors. Maybe it isn't the hunky prince Jenna has been keeping an eye on for a while, but the “grey haired stick insect” from Britain's most successful family show. From the Doctor's assistant to homewrecker, the former companion has certainly broken a few hearts during her travels through time and space._

“This is unacceptable!” Peter spat as he rose from his seat and slammed the newspaper down on the coffee table. It was simply outrageous. “They can't call Jenna that. She's done nothing wrong!”  
“Nevermind what they call me,” Jenna argued.  
“Exactly,” Elaine said determinedly and shot around to look at Jenna. “Could you please leave us alone for a moment?”  
Peter watched her nod in agreement and a moment later the door closed behind her. He was left with a furious Elaine and a despicable article. And then it finally dawned on Peter that maybe Elaine actually believed what it said.  
“Elaine, I hope you don't believe-”  
“ _What do you take me for?!_ ” she bellowed at him and Peter flinched under the sharpness of her voice. “You actually think I'd believe the filth the Daily Mail writes?!”  
He opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't even know what to say. If Elaine knew that it was nothing but a bunch of lies, then why was she so agitated? Why had she come here?  
“I told you this would happen!” Elaine yelled at him. “I told you the press would catch wind of it and this is still mild! Imagine they had figured out you live here! Imagine the headlines then!”  
“I don't live here,” he argued. “Just staying for-”  
“It's been almost a month, Peter! Time to come home,” she barked harshly.  
Peter crossed his arms in front of his chest. Come home so he could get shouted at a little more? Come home so he could uncover more and more secrets that his wife had kept from him over the past years? Come home when she hadn't even properly apologized?  
“This is so like you, Peter,” Elaine sighed. Her voice had grown a little softer, but there was still the accusatory undertone that he hated so much. “I know you love to run from all you problems and responsibilities, which is exactly why I've kept Cissy's pregnancy a secret, but you're an adult. You can't just hide and hope that doodling will just magically make your problems go away.”  
She pointed towards the sketch book that was still lying on the sofa table next to that damned newspaper and Peter swallowed. She wasn't wrong even though Peter would love to believe that. What was he doing here if not hiding from conflict?  
“Pack you things,” Elaine said quietly, “come home.”  
Peter had no idea what to reply, but Elaine knew him well enough for that when she granted him a smile before she turned around and headed towards the door, leaving the decision up to him without her presence.

It took her a while, but eventually Jenna stepped back into the living room and she looked about as lost as he felt.  
“So,” she exhaled sharply, “are you gonna go home?”  
Peter merely shrugged. “Do you want me to go home?”  
He watched as Jenna bit down on her lip, but then she shook her head.  
“What if Tom has seen the article?” Peter wanted to know. He didn't want to cause Jenna unnecessary trouble and if Tom already disliked him, maybe he should call her boyfriend and clear up the misunderstanding. But then again, if his friendship with Jenna bothered him, maybe Tom wasn't the right fit of her after all.  
“He doesn't really read the yellow press,” Jenna reasoned. “He's probably just sulking in general. Apparently men are good at that.”  
The joke needed a moment to sink in, but then Peter started to laugh. “Yeah, I've heard that rumor,” he replied. “So, what do we do? Dinner?”  
Jenna furrowed her brows. “Nah, I've got a better idea.”  
“Which is?” he asked curiously.  
“Let's kill a bottle of wine and bitch about our partners without any restraint,” she said determinedly.  
Peter wasn't entirely convinced if it was actually a better idea than dinner, especially since he had a tendency to become a melancholic when he drank, which was why he rarely did. “Are you sure that's a good idea?”  
“Absolutely,” Jenna replied. “Get the glasses, I'll get the wine.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for you many lovely comments! Let's see what you'll have to say about this emotional mess ;)

Jenna refilled their glasses and sank back to lean against Peter's chest where he instantly closed his arm around her shoulder once more. She took another sip from her wine and realized that maybe she was enjoying the moment a little too much, that maybe she was taking advantage of how cuddly he had become after the second glass, but she reasoned that both of them probably needed some comfort. It was too nice not to enjoy it. His embrace. The warmth from his body. If she didn't watch it Jenna might fall asleep like this. With a sigh she leaned her head against his chest and started giggling.  
“What?” Peter asked instantly.  
“Nothing,” she replied. “Just enjoying this.”  
“Getting tipsy?”  
Jenna chuckled and turned her head to look at him. “Getting tipsy, hanging out with you,” she said and gave his chest a soft jab with her index finger.  
“I thought you'd have grown tired of me by now,” Peter scoffed and sipped his wine carefully. Jenna didn't think she had ever really seen him drink except for a bottle of beer or two or the occasional glass at the wrap party.  
“Never,” she chuckled. “I've also never seen you drunk before. Remember the series eight wrap party when everyone else was so drunk and we ended up doing karaoke? Steven was a nightmare.”  
Peter leaned his head back and she saw a smile spread across his face. “Worst karaoke I've ever had to witness.”  
“You were good,” Jenna argued with a shrug. “You also won.”  
“Bowie turned over in his grave.”  
“Stop putting yourself down,” she replied determinedly and sat up next to him. The sudden movement and the wine made her head spin a tiny bit. Jenna looked at Peter who slowly returned her gaze. “You always do this. You never take a compliment.”  
It took him a moment, but eventually Peter smiled at her. “Hey, if I remember correctly, you wanted to bitch about Tom.”

Tom. Jenna had momentarily forgotten about him while she had been enjoying Peter's presence and now that he had brought her boyfriend up, Jenna doubted that Peter would let the topic go so soon. She emptied her glass and sank back against into the cushions.  
“I don't get him,” she said after a moment. “It's like he's allergic to any other man in my life.”  
“Jealous?”  
Jenna shrugged. “Don't know. Don't care. He should accept that I'm friends with you.”  
Peter scoffed. “Unlikely, now that's you've lied to him about me staying here.”  
“He'd have sulked either way,” she reasoned. Jenna really wanted to forgot about Tom again, to just ban him from her thoughts for a few more hours. “Ever since he found out, all I've been getting are single word replies to my messages. Idiot.”  
Once again Jenna felt Peter's arm around her shoulder and a moment later he pulled her back against his chest. She inhaled deeply, catching a whiff of his aftershave that she loved so much. It was subtle, but somehow the scent had still found a way to settle in her bathroom and on her sofa. Jenna really loved that scent and right now it took most of her willpower not to bury her nose in his shirt.  
When she raised her head she watched him finish his drink and Jenna set back up to get them both a refill.  
“Bad idea,” Peter interrupted her movement and attempted to cover his glass with his hand.  
Jenna frowned at him. “We still haven't talked about Elaine and what happened earlier.”  
“Don't actually feel like talking about it.”  
She giggled. “See, so I'll keep refilling your glass until you do. In vino veritas.”  
With a sigh Peter drew his hand back. “I'm gonna be dead tomorrow. I'm gonna be dead and it'll be your fault,” he growled. “I'm already dizzy. Wine just isn't for me.”  
Still Peter raised his hand to clink their glasses together and they both took a large sip.  
“Come on,” Jenna gave him a soft nudge. “Tell me.”  
After a sigh Peter took another gulp of the wine and looked down to his own two feet. “I don't know,” he explained. “It's like the last few years I've spent in Cardiff have ruined us. We used to do everything together, you know? Of course each of us travelled for work, but not nearly as much. Of course she'd get used to dealing with stuff on her own.”  
“She hasn't.”  
“Cissy and I mostly talked on the phone.” Peter took another sip. “I get it, she's young. She doesn't wanna spend her weekends with her parents. I just thought she'd have a few casual dates with a couple of guys, you know? Go crazy, hang out with her friends, get a nice boyfriend and then another. I didn't think she'd grow up so fast. She says she's happy, but what if she regrets it in 10 or 20 years? What if she thinks she's wasted her youth and then blames me because I wasn't around when it would have been important for her?”  
“Peter,” Jenna said softly and leaned forward to take his hand. “This really isn't your fault. Cissy is old enough to make her own decisions.”  
He scoffed. “I'm sure Elaine blames me. She said so and she's right. I'm not the best role model, I run away from conflict whenever I get the chance,” he said, slurring his words a little.

Maybe Peter was right and it had been a bad idea to drink. He seemed to get more emotional by the minute.  
“The one thing has literally nothing to do with the other,” Jenna reasoned. Either she was having trouble following him or Peter wasn't really making sense at all. She watched as Peter emptied his glass and set it down on the table and Jenna followed his example, vowing to not drink any more. Her head was spinning more than just a little.  
“Compared to Elaine I'll always be the failure, I'll always be the one who needs help and support. It's been like that from the beginning of our marriage and it's never gonna change. We we never equals,” Peter drawled. “Of course she's in charge when she had to pay the bills for decades and beg producers to let me audition so I could contribute. Of course she'd keep Cissy's pregnancy from me cause she knew I was useless. I've always been useless as a husband and father. And as an actor, too.”  
“You're not useless, Peter,” Jenna argued strictly, but her words didn't come out as determined as she had hoped.  
Peter uttered a sad laugh in return. “That's kind of you to say, but you know it's true. I'll always live in Elaine's shadow. Look at me. I'm old, I'm at the end of my career, I'm becoming a grandfather. Might as well retire now and stop trying. Doctor Who was the end of the line for me and that's the truth.”  
“The truth is that you're drunk and currently drowning in self-doubt,” she slurred. “You're a great actor.”  
He snorted. “You're also drunk, so excuse me for not taking your word for it,” he replied and leaned forward just a little. “I'm old and useless and-”  
“On your best way into a midlife-crisis,” Jenna finished his sentence.  
“Am not.”  
“Listen to me,” she said and it took all of her strength to focus on the right words. Jenna placed her arms on both of his shoulders to keep her balance, forcing Peter to look at her. “You're not useless. You've been amazing on Doctor Who and everything you've done before. There will be other roles in time, good roles. It's not your fault that all they're making right now is crap. Your family loves you and you will fix your issues with Elaine. She loves you and she certainly doesn't think you're a failure. Also, many people are grandparents, many people younger than you. You're not old and for a grandfather you're still pretty damn hot.”  
At first Peter only frowned at her and it obviously took a while for the words to sink in, but then he suddenly started to utter a small laugh. “You think I'm hot?”  
Jenna felt like slapping her hand across her mouth. She really hadn't meant to say that out loud, but now that she had there was no taking it back. And it was the truth. Why not give him the little boost of confidence when he obviously needed it?  
“Absolutely,” Jenna drawled. “You've got a really nice body and great hair and you smell amazing and I sincerely hope that you won't remember any of this tomorr-”  
The words died in her throat when Peter suddenly leaned forward and for a moment she felt frozen on the spot as their lips collided in a clumsy kiss. It was bad. They were both drunk and Peter didn't know what he was doing and she should most certainly not yield to it, but despite her better judgement her lips parted to let him in. Jenna could still taste the wine on his tongue as it awkwardly swept across her own. This was bad, really bad.  
His hands wandered to her face, gently cupping her cheeks to pull her closer and Jenna wasn't quite sure if it was the wine or butterflies that were currently causing the turmoil in her stomach. Even though her head felt clouded and she knew that she should stop, a part of her was enjoying the kiss immensely. For a brief moment she let the wine encourage her and just let it happen because she knew she would never get a second opportunity.  
Eventually Jenna found the courage to carefully push him away when the she opened her eyes again it felt as if the room was turning in circles around her.  
“Sorry,” Peter mumbled quickly. “That, uhm, that was inappropriate.”  
“Uhm, tiny bit, yeah,” Jenna agreed breathlessly. “We should probably go to bed.”  
“Good plan,” Peter nodded and rose to his feet, but obviously he had misjudged his state of inebriation and almost toppled over before Jenna caught him at the last moment.  
“You really shouldn't drink,” she told him as they started making their way towards the guest bedroom.  
Peter scoffed. “You're the one who made me.”  
Jenna sighed audibly. Yes, and that made all of what happened tonight her own fault. Peter's descent into self-doubt, the kiss, all of it.

He looked dead tired when he collapsed on his bed and Peter instantly closed his eyes without even bothering to take his clothes off and suddenly Jenna felt so exhausted that the even the thought of walking up all those steps to her room seemed impossible. Right now, as she stood next to Peter's bed, she thought that there was still room for one more stupid decision. It wasn't as if it could still make things worse.  
So without thinking about it any further Jenna raised the duvet on the other side and climbed into bed next to Peter. How much worse was one more regret in the morning?


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your sweet comments :) Glad you've enjoyed their questionable decisions!

Sleep. That was all Peter wanted right now as he realized that he was slowly beginning to wake up. There was a dull throbbing in his temples that felt as if someone had dropped a piano on his head and the only comfort he could think of was to fall back asleep. There was no reason not to. The bed was warm and incredibly soft and there was that familiar, feminine scent that was clouding his senses. It would have been perfect if it hadn't been for the crushing headache.  
Peter pressed his eyes shut and nestled his body closer to the source of the heat. It was strangely familiar, the shape pressed so tightly against him and yet he still wanted to be closer. It felt so good and in his half sleep he gave in to the temptation to slowly grind against the shape and it wasn't until she started to stir next to him that Peter realized just what he was doing.

All of a sudden he felt wide awake and Peter opened his eyes to find Jenna lying in his arms. The realisation hit him at once. The hangover. The wine. His emotional outburst. And of course the kiss as well. He had no idea how Jenna had ended up in his bed, but he was certainly relieved to find them both fully clothed as he slowly started to untangle himself from her.  
Jenna uttered a groan next to him when she woke up. “Oh God,” she moaned. “Somebody kill me.”  
To his horror she turned around and just a few seconds later their gaze met and Peter froze on the spot. He gulped, but couldn't think of anything he could say to her that might justify what he had done last night and from the look of shock on her face Peter thought that Jenna felt exactly the same.  
“Uhm,” she spluttered eventually. “Morning.”  
“Eh, good morning. D-did you sleep well?”  
With a sigh Jenna sat up, but she seemed to regret the movement immediately when Peter heard her utter another groan. Still he decided to follow her example.  
“You were right,” she said. “That last glass of wine really was a bad idea.”  
“I'm sorry,” Peter blurted out instantly and Jenna raised her head, staring at him through large, dark eyes. “I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have done what I did. It was completely out of line. I don't even know what has gotten into me, but I'm sorry, Jen. Please, believe me.”  
At first all she did was stare at him for a long moment, then she finally opened her mouth. “It's fine,” she breathed in response.  
“No, it's not fine,” he replied and he racked his brain for something to say to her, but the pain of the hangover was making it almost impossible for him to think straight. All he knew was that ever since he had met Elaine he had never kissed another woman, he had never even _thought_ about kissing another woman. Until last night.  
“You've had a bad day,” Jenna reasoned. “You needed a boost of confidence and I was there. It happened.”  
“Yes,” he replied carefully, “but that's not an excuse-”  
“Stop apologizing, okay?” Jenna snapped at him and then quickly bit down on her lip. “Let's just. . . let's just forget it happened, okay? We were both drunk, it was bad judgement on both our parts. It meant nothing.”  
“Right. It meant nothing.” Peter swallowed. Nothing at all. “I'm still so-”  
Jenna interrupted him with a loud groan. “Just forget about it, okay?” she said and stared straight at him. For a brief moment he thought there was more that she wanted to say. “I'm gonna take a shower.”

All Peter could do was watch when Jenna rose from his bed and he realized he still didn't know how they had come to sleep all cuddled up. Maybe he never would. When the door closed behind her, Peter sank back into the pillows. After so many years of marriage he had been so sure that Elaine was the love of his life, that he could never be tempted, that he would never betray her trust. He had been so sure that he was too old for any other kind of nonsense. But he had kissed Jenna. He had kissed Jenna and even now that he was sober, underneath all of the shame and regret, he couldn't deny that he had enjoyed it at that moment.

* * *

Jenna closed the door behind her and for the first time since she had woken up she took a deep, long breath, but that still didn't change the fact that her hands were shaking and her heart was beating as if it was trying to jump out of her chest at any given moment. She swallowed hard, realizing once and for all what she should have seen coming, what she should have known sooner. They had been friends for years, but after the past four weeks and especially last night Jenna could no longer deny that maybe she was just a little bit too much in love with Peter.  
It had been fine, everything had been fine up until the moment he had kissed her and a part of her thought that she should have known better and pushed him away immediately, but instead she had let it happen. Those damned four weeks he had spent living with her had made everything worse, the way he had always treated her like a queen, the compliments, the attention, the drawings he had made of her. How could any woman resist?  
Now she was not only suffering the consequences for the drinking, but also battling a whole lot of guilt. There was no way Peter would have kissed her in a sober state, there was no way he would have kissed her hadn't he been in such a lousy state of mind. A boost of confidence, the knowledge that he could still kiss a woman half his age, that was all it had been for him and Jenna should never, ever forget that. He had betrayed Elaine and she had betrayed Tom, who was already mad at her because of Peter. Somehow she had to make it up to him.

Not knowing what else to do, how else to take her mind off Peter, Jenna reached for her phone and dialled Tom's number. It took a few rings, but eventually he picked up.  
“Hey,” he answered coldly.  
“I'm sorry,” Jenna apologized immediately. For lying to him and for the kiss. Tom could never know that had happened, but that didn't mean she couldn't apologize for it. “I'm sorry that I lied to you about Peter, I'm sorry I took so long. I shouldn't have kept it from you and I know you're still mad, but I want to make it up to you.”  
She heard him take a deep breath. “Okay,” he said after a moment.  
Jenna breathed a sigh of relief. Tom would forgive her. Everything was going to be fine. Now all she needed was a plan. “How about you come over tonight? I'll cook us something and we can watch a movie,” she suggested out of the blue.  
“Is Peter still living with you?”  
“Yes,” she replied hesitantly. “But I'll tell him that you're gonna come over and he'll stay in his room. I promise. Tonight it's just the two of us.”  
Tom remained silent for a while.  
“Please,” Jenna almost begged him. “I'll make your favourite and the movie will be your choice.”  
“Alright,” Tom finally agreed. “I'll be there at 7.”  
“Love you,” she said meekly and hung up. Everything was going to be fine. Except for her feelings for Peter. They were anything but fine. She really should have realized it sooner, she should have never let him stay with her, but as it was, now she didn't really want him to ever leave her house again. A part of her wished that she could have him all to herself and that would never happen.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst? Nahhh, this isn't angsty yet. . . ;)  
> Huge thanks to you all for leaving your amazing comments!!!!

He had been ordered to his room like a school boy who refused to do his homework and at first Peter had obliged, knowing that it was the reasonable thing to give Jenna and Tom some space. But as he sat on his bed, attempting in vain to work on his drawings, the laughter from the kitchen still managed to get through to him.  
It was good, he told himself. Jenna should try to make it up to Tom so at least one of them could get their relationship back on track. It was fine. Just because he hadn't yet figured out how he was supposed to look Elaine in the eye after his kiss with Jenna didn't mean that she had to struggle with her guilty conscience as well. It really shouldn't bother him that Jenna was out there, having a lovely evening with Tom – but it did. Peter didn't think that Tom was even remotely good enough for Jenna.  
It wasn't until the kitchen went quiet that the silence grew too much to bear and Peter threw his sketch book aside and made his way towards the door. He stopped with his hand already on the door handle. No, Peter really shouldn't go out there and bother them. And that wasn't even his intention at all when he opened the door just a crack and spied into the living room.  
Jenna and Tom were sitting on the sofa, his arm around her shoulder, just like he had sat there with Jenna merely 24 hours ago. It really shouldn't bother him. But damn, it did.

* * *

Jenna stared at the screen ahead and tried to focus on the movie instead of Tom's arm around her. Everything felt strange now after she had kissed Peter and it occurred to Jenna that maybe she didn't love Tom as much as she had thought she did, but that didn't mean it couldn't still work out between them. Her relationship with Richard had mostly been based on passion while they had found they had little else in common. Tom was different, a lot different. Jenna had known him for so long now that she had never expected the sparks to fly or the butterflies to haunt her stomach when he touched her, but Tom was gentle and she loved him. She wanted to make it work because compared to Richard she could actually see a future with Tom.  
And then there was Peter. Handsome, a gentleman, kind, funny and his kiss had actually made her feel something she had never expected to feel. Jenna should have expected it because they were on the same wavelength in every possible aspect. She should have seen it coming and above all she should really stop thinking about him now because there was no chance whatsoever that something with Peter could possibly work out.  
Jenna inhaled deeply and leaned back into Tom's embrace, ignoring the thought about Peter, ignoring the remnants of her hangover. Tom was the one and Jenna was going to make it work no matter what.

As if on cue the living room door opened and to her dismay she spotted Peter standing in the door way. He had obviously changed out of his normal clothes and put on his pyjamas and what was even worse was that he was holding a large bowl of popcorn.  
“Hey, what are you watching?” he asked cheerfully as he approached the sofa. Jenna watched him turn towards the screen and nod in approval. “Oh, I like that movie.”  
Before she could say anything to stop him Peter sank down on the sofa right next to her and started munching his popcorn as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She turned her head and shot him a dark glance, but Peter didn't seem to pay her any attention at all.  
“What is he doing?” Tom suddenly whispered into her ear and Jenna nearly flinched at the sharpness of his voice.  
She shot around and looked at him. “Trust me, I have no idea.”  
“Popcorn?”  
With a deep sigh Jenna slowly turned back around and glowered at Peter, who was holding the bowl in her direction, but despite her glance she tried to remain as friendly as possible so as not to give Tom the impression that this was anything out of the ordinary.  
“Didn't you say you wanted to work on your drawings?” Jenna asked in a pretend calm manner.  
“I did,” Peter replied and stuffed another handful of popcorn into his mouth. “Now I'm done for tonight and I thought I'd see what you two are up to.”  
“You know, erm, this was actually meant as a kind of private evening,” she explained.  
“Oh, don't worry. I won't bother you. Just pretend that I'm not here at all.”  
Tom leaned forward and looked past her straight at Peter. “We'd prefer it if we didn't have to pretend,” he replied coldly.  
Peter stared back, dumbfounded. “You don't want popcorn then?”  
“I want you to leave me and my girlfriend alone!”  
“Okay, stop it,” Jenna spat and rose to her feet. She pointed towards Peter. “You. Me. Kitchen. Now.”

Jenna didn't wait for Peter's reaction before she stomped off into the kitchen. She had no idea what Peter had been thinking, but she was sure to find out any moment as he followed her reluctantly.  
“Close the door,” she ordered him and carefully Peter did what he was told. Jenna waited until she was sure that Tom couldn't hear them before she started. “What on earth is wrong with you?!”  
Peter didn't reply. Instead he only stared back at her.  
“You can drop the act, Peter. I know you're good at acting, but I know you well enough to tell that that person out there wasn't you. You're not that daft. You knew I wanted to be alone with Tom. Why did you put up that show with your pyjamas and the popcorn?!”  
Jenna was furious and she couldn't even really explain why. It wasn't because Tom was angry or because Peter had disturbed their romantic evening. Maybe she was furious because Peter could just stroll into her living room in his pjs as if it was the most natural thing, but even about that Jenna wasn't sure.  
Eventually Peter shrugged. “I wanted to annoy him,” he confessed eventually.  
“What?! Why?!” It didn't make any sense at all.  
“Because he's an idiot and if he gets jealous just because I'm living with you then he doesn't deserve you!”  
“Well, he's certainly not the only idiot in this house right now,” Jenna spat at him.  
“I just wanted to wind him up a bit,” Peter said quietly, throwing her an apologetic glance. “I'm sorry.”  
“Well, you've succeeded cause he is wound up,” she sighed. “Peter, it's not up to you to decide whether he's good enough for me or not. He's my boyfriend. I wouldn't tell you to divorce Elaine because she lied to you even if that was my opinion on what you should do.”  
Slowly Peter nodded.  
“If I go back out there now, will you promise to leave us alone for the rest of the night? I mean, the mood is ruined anyway, but Tom still deserves his quiet evening,” Jenna reasoned.  
“I promise. And I'm sorry.”

After taking another deep breath Jenna made her way back into the living room, but when she stopped next to the sofa and looked at Tom she realized in horror that he was already wearing his coat. And he was looking more than furious. It didn't take a lot of imagination to realize that Tom had probably had enough.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tom seems out of the picture for now, but how mad is Jenna going to be?
> 
> Thank you all so much for your lovely comments! I see you're not that sad about Tom's departure XD

“Tom,” Jenna blurted out and stopped dead in her tracks. He was dressed to leave, but she knew that if she let him leave now, things between them would only get worse. “Please, let's sit back down and finish the movie, okay?”  
“Why?” he asked simply and there was so much resentment in his voice that for a moment she couldn't even find the words to reply. “You don't want to finish the movie with me, do you? You want a cosy evening with Peter. I'm not gonna stand in your way.”  
He turned around, but Jenna darted forward and grabbed his arm.  
“That's not true, Tom,” she replied. “I've seen Peter every day for the past four weeks, but we've barely spent any time together at all.”  
“Yeah, well, that's not exactly my fault, is it?” he barked and Jenna instantly let go of his arm, staring straight into his eyes. She could tell that he was fuming. “God, I only need to look at you to see the truth!”  
“There is no truth other than that you're making a completely unnecessary scene right now,” Jenna spat at him at him in return. “Peter apologized and-”  
“Oh, well, that makes everything alright then, does it?” he asked and the tone of his voice was mocking her. “Cause if _Peter_ apologized there's nothing else you need to worry about.”  
“Tom, stop it,” she told him strictly.  
“I won't because I'm tired of this, Jenna,” he shouted back at her and then lowered his voice. “If you're in love, then there's no point in us trying anymore.”  
“What?” Jenna uttered a nervous laugh and her first instinct was to lie to him. Maybe if she lied convincingly enough, she would start to believe it herself. “I am not in love with him.”  
“Well, he's clearly in love with you. Why else would he put on such a jealous show?”  
Jenna opened her mouth, but closed it again in an instant, not knowing what to say. Peter had told her he didn't think that Tom was right for her and for a tiny moment she wanted to believe that there was more to it than just protectiveness. She wanted Peter to want her even though it was wrong.  
“The thing is, Jenna,” Tom sighed and his shoulders sank. “I don't think it matters whether you're in love with him or not. He's more important to you than I am.”  
“That's not true,” she argued weakly.  
He only stared at her in response and Jenna wanted to keep telling him that he was wrong, but right now she couldn't find the strength to lie anymore. Tom was right. If she had to choose between her relationship with Tom or her friendship with Peter, Jenna knew that she would always choose her best friend.  
“I'm gonna go,” he said calmly. “Don't try to stop me.”  
There was nothing she could do when Tom turned his back on her, nothing she could say to make him stay and right now she was too confused to even try. But then there was that hint of anger again, that feeling that she had lost and it stirred that desire to have the last word in this argument.  
“You're an idiot, Tom,” Jenna barked after him. “You're an idiot and you're wrong!”  
And with that she spun around on her heels, darted upstairs to her room and slammed the door as loudly as she could.

* * *

Peter heard the door slam upstairs and instantly knew that something was wrong. If Tom had left and Jenna was mad, then something bad had happened after he had retreated to his room and he needed to see if she was alright.  
Instantly he threw his sketch book aside, knowing that he wouldn't get anything done tonight anyway, and started to make his way up the stairs to Jenna's room. After a careful knock Peter stepped inside.  
He found Jenna on her bed, blowing her nose in a tissue and he immediately realized that she had been crying. The guilty conscience kicked in in a matter of seconds and Peter knew that whatever had happened between the two of them, it was his fault.  
“I'm so-” Peter attempted to apologize, but Jenna cut him off.  
“If you say sorry, I swear I will kick your arse!” she barked at him.  
He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her. Jenna had been crying, but she seemed angry rather than sad and he had no idea what to say to her. When he opened his mouth, it was once again Jenna who spoke first.  
“I'm single! There, Tom left me,” she spat and threw the tissue aside. “Are you happy now?”  
“No,” Peter blurted out immediately. “Jen, that's-”  
“Isn't that what you wanted?! You said he wasn't good enough for me and you got your wish. He's gone.”  
“That really isn't what I wanted, Jenna,” he argued, raising his voice just a little. He hadn't wanted Tom to break up with Jenna, not really anyway. And yet beneath the guilt a part of him felt just a tiny bit relieved. Jenna was such an amazing woman and she could do so much better than Tom. In time she would come to see that. But that really didn't help with her broken heart right now. “I'm sorry.”  
“Get out!” Jenna shouted and all of a sudden she reached for the tissue box and threw it at him. Peter dodged it at the last moment, but decided that it was probably better to give her some space.

He was already halfway down the stairs when the guilt came back. Jenna was right. It wasn't his place to decide whether Tom was good enough for her not and he really shouldn't have interrupted their date night, no matter his personal feelings. Somehow Peter was going to make it up to her.  
With a new idea Peter darted off into the kitchen and switched the kettle on. He opened one of the cupboards and retrieved a packet of biscuits before he spread them neatly on a small plate. Armed with sweets and Jenna's favourite tea he walked back upstairs.  
“I thought I had told you to go away.” Her voice was calm when she spoke and Peter figured that some of her anger had already faded away, so he decided to risk it and stepped inside.  
“I brought tea and biscuits,” he said with a light smile and held up the cup and plate. “Comfort food.”  
Jenna looked at him for a long moment, but eventually she sighed and scooted over, patting the empty side of the bed next to her.  
Peter hesitated. “You're not gonna hit me with a pillow when I go over there, right?”  
To his relief she smiled at him, then shook her head.  
Peter made his way across the room and handed Jenna the teacup before he sat down next to her.  
“I know you said not to apologize, but I'm really sorry,” he said. “If you want to, I can call Tom and clear it up, apologize to him as well.”  
“No,” Jenna replied calmly and sipped her tea. “I think maybe you were right.”  
“About what?” Peter enquired carefully.  
“About Tom not being good enough for me,” she said with a sigh. “He didn't even really hear me out. He just heard what he wanted to hear. And he was right about one thing, too.”  
Cautiously he raised his eyebrows. “Which is?”  
Jenna turned around and smiled at him. “He said our friendship is more important to me than the relationship was and he's right.”  
“Jen-”  
“No, hear me out,” she insisted and reached out to take his hand. “I'm sad and angry that it's over because Tom was a good boyfriend, but he wasn't _the one_. I thought he could be, but I was wrong and I expect the man I'm going to spend my life with to accept that I will always have friends outside of our relationship. For that reason alone you were right about him. I can do better.”  
Peter sighed in relief. “I'm still sorry.”  
“You better be,” Jenna giggled. “Now be a good friend and cheer me up.”  
He shoved the plate of biscuits into her direction and took one for himself, stuffing it right into his mouth.  
“Hey, you can't do that,” she protested. “You can't bring me comfort biscuits and then eat them yourself.”  
“Yes, I can,” he mumbled with his mouth full and leaned back, closing his arm around Jenna's shoulder. He felt relieved that she was no longer mad at him even though she had every reason to be, but Peter was determined to do his best to cheer her up. And yes, one day she would meet the right man who would be a better fit than Richard or Tom and his stomach clenched at the thought about it.  
While Jenna nestled her head against his chest Peter suddenly thought back to the kiss they had shared and he thought that maybe they had grown a little too close in the past four weeks. At some point he would have to go home and Peter already knew that he was going to miss her terribly.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your sweet comments!!! I see you all love the developing relationship between Jenna and Peter. It would be a shame if. . .

Jenna walked down the stairs and tightened her robe around her body. She felt a little grumpy this morning because she had slept a lot longer than anticipated before she had woken up, drenched in sweat, because the summer heat seemed unbearable even at 10 am. Her mood didn't exactly improve when she stepped into the kitchen and a sudden, sharp pain shot through the sole of her foot.  
“Fuck!” she cursed instantly and looked down, only to realize that she had stepped on one of Peter's pencils. One that seemed to have been sharpened just recently.  
With a groan Jenna bent down to pick it up and instantly stomped off in the direction of the guest bedroom. Peter wasn't up yet because he had taken on the habits of a teenage boy and that included sleeping in late, but she was determined to wake him up.  
“Peter!” she shouted through the hall. “Peter Capaldi, I am neither your mother nor your wife, so I really shouldn't have to tell you to-”  
The words got stuck in her throat when she tore the door open and her eyes fell on Peter. He was standing in the middle of the room, stark naked, and in the process of putting on his pants and somehow her brain simply short-circuited. Jenna was mad at him, but despite that the heat instantly rose to her cheeks when she saw him and the rest of her sentence just slipped her mind.  
“Oh, Jesus Christ,” she cursed instead and quickly closed the door again.  
Jenna leaned against the nearest wall and inhaled deeply. It couldn't go on like this. For days she had been painfully aware of her feelings towards Peter and her breakup from Tom had only made it worse because it meant that she was free. Free to enjoy Peter's attention, free to enjoy his hugs, free to think about him in any way she liked. And she realized she had indulged in that maybe a little bit too much because when she had seen him naked, a part of her hadn't wanted to look away at all.  
But Peter wasn't free. He was a married man who was currently hiding at her house from his wife and he would go back to her. He had to go back to her and he had to do it soon before Jenna lost her mind. Peter wasn't hers, he would never be hers and the longer he stayed the harder it would be for her to let him go.

Suddenly the door to his room opened and Peter stepped outside, now fully clothed, and Jenna instantly stepped away from the wall. She realized that in her hand she was still clutching his pencil.  
“I'm sorry,” Peter apologized quickly, followed by a chuckle. “I didn't blind you, did I?”  
Jenna inhaled deeply and focused very hard to look him in the eye. She was probably blushing just as hard as Peter was right now and a part of her wanted to tell him stop being so goddamn critical with himself. Peter was the picture book example of a silver fox with a handsome face, a nice, lean body, a head full of wonderful curls that she would just love to run her fingers through and, apparently, he was also quite well endowed. Not to mention that he was funny and a perfect gentleman. Jenna would have loved to tell him that, but she didn't because she vividly remembered just what that had led to last time. The kiss was still haunting her and last night, when she had tried to fall asleep, she had invoked the memory of it. Only in her imagination they had gone just a little bit further.  
“No,” she breathed in reply. “No, it's fine. I, uhm, I should have knocked.”  
“Really? Cause you seem quite shocked,” he laughed nervously. “Can't have been a pretty sight-”  
“Let's have breakfast, okay?” Jenna interrupted him. She really didn't want this conversation to continue right now.  
Peter nodded and Jenna was relieved to have an excuse to turn her back on him and walk away. Something had to change because it really couldn't go on like this any longer.

“Do you want me to cook something?” Peter asked when he opened the fridge. “Omelettes? Or we could do it the American way and have pancakes?”  
As Jenna watched him go through the contents of her fridge and suggesting all the things they could have for breakfast, her heart sank a little because once again it became painfully obviously that she had only _borrowed_ Peter. Imagining that he did this sort of thing for Elaine on a daily basis suddenly felt like cheating because she had been selfish in keeping him here. No matter how much she loved to have Peter to herself, it just wasn't right and if he stayed for much longer Jenna would do something stupid sooner rather than later and fall madly in love with him.  
“Peter, you need to go home,” she blurted out before she lost the courage to say it.  
There was a look of surprise on his face when he turned around and stared at her and for a moment it seemed as if he was lost for words.  
“I, uhm,” he stammered eventually. “I know. I'm gonna talk to Elaine soon.”  
“No, not soon,” Jenna insisted. “Now.”  
Peter furrowed his brows at her and it seemed that he had completely given up the endeavour to make them breakfast. He looked so shocked that for a moment Jenna was tempted to take it all back, but she couldn't. It was the right thing to do.  
“If this is about earlier, I swear, I'm sorry.”  
“No,” Jenna sighed. “It's not about that, it's about everything.”  
“If you want me to apologize to Tom, then-”  
“It's really not about that, Peter,” she cut him off. “You can't keep hiding in my house just because you want to avoid conflict with your wife. It's been over a month now and I told you that you're welcome to stay, but I think it's been long enough. Elaine is waiting for you to come home and I think you've been miserable without her.”  
“I am not miserable,” he argued.  
“Yes, you are. You've been sulking and sinking deeper into that midlife crisis with every passing day. It's time you talked to your wife, it really is time,” Jenna told him.  
Peter groaned and rolled his eyes in response. “For the last time, I am not having a midlife crisis, Jen!”  
In reply Jenna held up the pencil she had stepped on just half an hour ago. “I stepped on this earlier. Your things are all over the place. Your pencils, your clothes and I was gonna wake you up this morning and tell you that I am not your mother or your wife, that you're an adult and that I should not have to tell you to clean up after yourself,” Jenna spat and threw the pencil down on the table. “You're acting like a moody teenager, drawing all day long, playing your guitar until after midnight and I think you're doing it just so you can avoid to think about your wife or the fact that you're about to be a grandfather.”

She knew that she was being harsh and maybe even a little unfair because, in truth, she loved having Peter here, but she loved it a little more than was good for her and that was why he had to leave. And if the kiss proved anything, then that the same held true for Peter.  
“I'm sorry,” she apologized when she saw how hurt he looked, her voice now softer. “I love you, Peter, and you will always be welcome here, but I think it's best for you to go home.”  
Slowly he nodded and lowered his gaze to his feet. “I'm sorry, too.”  
“Don't be,” Jenna said sincerely and smiled at him. “It's been awesome to have you here. I mean, apart from leaving your things on the floor you're the perfect housemate and an excellent cook.”  
To her relief a soft smile appeared on his face and slowly Peter looked back up at her.  
“Go home to your wife,” Jenna told him. “I bet she misses you and your cooking skills.”

Without a warning Peter stepped forward and closed his arms around her in a tight and warm embrace.  
“You're the best friend in this entire world, Jen. I hope you know that,” Peter told her and squeezed her a little more tightly. “Thank you. For letting me stay, for enduring me for a month, for everything.”  
“Any time,” she replied and buried her head in the fabric on his shirt. Jenna would miss this. She would miss his smell that now clung to every piece of furniture and her bathroom, she would miss his gentle hugs and his kind words, she would miss having him around. Without Peter the house, as well as her heart, would feel a lot emptier, but she knew that it was better for them both.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks and hug to all of my commenters :) Thank you so much!  
> And now, we knew this day would come, but I'm fairly certain that some interesting stuff will happen while they're on their own ;)

Peter paused for a moment after he had closed his suitcase and somehow he felt as if his heart had sunk into his boots. Jenna was right, of course, as she so often was. It was high time for him to go home and face all the problems that were waiting for him there. He and Elaine would probably squabble a lot in the following days, but they would be fine. His daughter would soon have a baby and as long as she was happy about that and happy with her boyfriend, Peter shouldn't be worried about it. But it was just as Jenna had said: he had run away just to avoid it all and he had enjoyed it. Peter had thoroughly enjoyed staying with his best friend for a whole month, maybe a bit too much.  
Peter sighed and even though he had tried his best to erase it from his mind, he couldn't quite stop thinking about their kiss. One part of him, a big part, felt bad because he had betrayed his wife for the very first time and he wasn't yet sure whether he should confess this transgression to Elaine or not. Yet another part of him felt utterly excited. Jenna was young and beautiful and smart and all of the things he always said about her when he was asked and he couldn't deny that he had loved the kiss. It had been fresh and new and exciting and he had loved the feeling of a her lips on his own, he had loved the butterflies in his stomach.  
And that was exactly why he should leave. He and Jenna had always been close, but maybe they had become a little too close of late. And yes, maybe she was also right when she said he was heading towards a midlife crisis. Peter would miss Jenna terribly and he would probably ring her up to meet for a coffee in no time at all, but for now it was time to go home.

Peter grabbed his suitcase and headed towards the kitchen where Jenna was waiting for him with a smile on her lips, but despite that she looked a little bit sad.  
“Got everything?” she asked.  
He set down his suitcase and his guitar and grinned at her. “Not quite,” he replied and darted forward, flinging his arms around Jenna in a tight hug. “You're small, you fit in my suitcase.”  
Jenna giggled in response. “Does it have air holes?”  
“I'm sure we can put some in,” Peter sighed while he released her from the embrace, yet he still kept a firm hold on her arms. He looked at her for a long moment. Yes, he would definitely miss her.  
Jenna cocked an eyebrow at him. “Before or after I've stepped into the case?”  
“Depends on how much of a thrill seeker you are.”  
She smiled broadly at him in response. “Don't be a stranger, okay?”  
The way she looked at him right now somehow made his heart skip a beat and he almost faltered in his decision to leave. But even if he begged her permission to stay, Peter doubted that Jenna would let him. So he did the only thing he could think of, the only thing he knew Jenna would allow him. Peter bent down and placed a long, soft kiss on her cheek. He picked a spot close to her mouth for reasons he couldn't quite explain. Maybe he was hoping that Jenna would turn her head just a little, but she never did. And why would she? Jenna had ended their first kiss and he really shouldn't seek to repeat it. After a moment Peter pulled away and his heart was now hammering inside his chest. Yes, time to leave.  
“Never,” Peter replied with a smile.

* * *

Elaine looked a little surprised when he stepped through the door, carrying his suitcase, but her face soon turned into a bright smile when she realized what was happening. Yet still his heart felt a little heavy when he thought about what was to come.  
“Peter,” his wife greeted him happily and she instantly approached him to give him a peck on the lips. “You're home.”  
“Yes,” he confirmed. “Got the suitcase and all.”  
Elaine beamed at him, but her features soon turned a little more serious. “I'm sorry,” she apologized and this time it sounded sincere. “It's my fault that you felt the need to. . . temporarily move out. I shouldn't have kept Cissy's pregnancy a secret from you. I thought it was for the best, but obviously I was wrong. I would have apologized sooner, but I figured I should give you the space and the freedom you needed.”  
Peter gave a soft nod in response. For a month he had thought that he wanted nothing more than a proper apology from his wife and now that he finally got what he he had wanted it seemed so silly, so insignificant. Maybe it wasn't the apology he had been after, maybe it was the space and the freedom. And he had taken it, the freedom to kiss another woman that wasn't his wife.  
“I need to tell you something,” Peter blurted out. He couldn't do what Elaine had done. He couldn't keep the secret from her. The longer she looked at him, the more sincere she seemed, the worse it ate awat at his conscience.  
“Yes?” Elaine looked at him expectantly.

Peter set his suitcase down and crossed the room until he had reached the kitchen table where he sank down on one of the chairs. Should he look at Elaine while he confessed his transgression? Should he stare at his own feet?  
“What's the matter, Peter?” his wife wanted to know and there was a hint of worry in his voice.  
He inhaled deeply. “While I was staying with Jenna there was this evening,” he stammered. “We had wine and we decided to talk about everything that was bothering us and it got a little emotional.”  
His wife uttered a nervous laugh. “What exactly are you trying to tell me?”  
“We kissed.” There. It was out. “Jenna and I, we both had a bit too much to drink and we kissed.”  
A frown was all he earned at first, then, when Elaine crossed her arms in front of her chest Peter could tell that she hadn't expected to hear that. She was hurt. “Alright,” she breathed in reply. “Was that it?”  
He swallowed. “We both passed out in the same bed, but nothing else happened. So, yeah, that's it.”  
For a moment Elaine didn't say anything at all while she sat down on the chair next to him, but she didn't need to say it, Peter already knew that she was disappointed and possibly very, very mad.  
“This is why you shouldn't drink, Peter,” Elaine said after a while and suddenly chuckled. “You always get too emotional.”  
Peter furrowed his brows at her in reply. “You're not mad?”  
“Well, I'm not exactly happy,” Elaine sighed. “But it's only a kiss. I'll survive. _We'll_ survive. Lying to you wasn't exactly my proudest moment either.”  
“So, we're okay?” He just needed to know.  
“Yes,” Elaine confirmed determinedly, followed by a laugh while she nudged him softly. “Now stop looking so terrified and unpack your suitcase.”

Peter did as he was told, feeling relieved that everything seemed alright at last. He and Elaine would be okay. That was all that mattered now.  
He dragged his suitcase upstairs and threw most of his clothes straight into the hamper. Then he gathered up his guitar, laptop and sketch book and made his way into his office and art room, the only place in the house that was entirely his, his sanctuary. He had already placed both his laptop and book on his desk and was about to go back downstairs when something crossed his mind and he walked back towards his desk and opened his sketch book.  
There it was, the doodle he had produced last night when his fingers had grown tired of the guitar strings and he looked at it for a long moment, now not even knowing what he had been thinking. He had been exhausted and so close to falling asleep and yet he had managed to doodle a quite unambiguous drawing of the Doctor and Clara, who was sitting on his lap while their lips were locked in a kiss.  
Peter tore the page out and for a moment he considered throwing it away before Elaine could find it, but then he decided to stick it inside a book on his shelf, one that his wife would never, ever look at.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so very much for your lovely comments! Now, Peter and Jenna are back where they belong - but is all as well as it seems?

_2 Months Later_

Peter glanced at the drawing in front of him and for the first time he thought he had actually done Jenna justice. He smiled to himself when he thought about the scene in a baroque style ballroom. The Doctor looked grumpy while Clara attempted to convince him to dance with her, pulling at his hand. For a brief moment he even considered sending it to Jenna, who always wanted to be up to date with his fanart book, when a knock on the door tore him out of his thoughts.  
“Cissy and Ben are here,” Elaine announced and she started to laugh when she spotted him bent over his drawings. “Don't you have enough drawings to fill three books by now?”  
Peter smiled at her in return. Shortly after moving back home he had told Elaine about his plan and at first she hadn't been convinced, but that had changed after he had showed her a couple of his drawings. Now, two months later, she seemed to support his endeavour.  
“If only all of them were good enough,” Peter replied and put his pencil aside to rise from his seat.  
Elaine gave him that look, the look she always gave him when she thought he was being silly, but Peter decided to ignore it for now and instead followed his wife downstairs.

“Hello sweetheart,” Peter greeted his daughter with a tight hug and Cissy laughed when he closed his arms around her. Her pregnancy was now more than visible and at first Peter had struggled with the idea of becoming a grandfather, but seeing his daughter so happy and radiant simply made him forget about the rest.  
“Hello,” Ben walked up to the two of them and extended his hand towards Peter. He shook it without hesitation. It was true, Ben was boring and, yes, Cissy could have done better, but at least he was a decent young man who seemed utterly devoted to his daughter, so there wasn't really anything Peter could actually complain about.  
“Hey,” Peter greeted him happily, “how's it going?”  
“Oh, quite well,” Ben confirmed. “The nursery is finished now, all we have to do is make the rest of the flat childproof, but we're not in a hurry. I suppose it'll be a while until he or she starts crawling around.”  
He couldn't help but laugh. “Yeah, good luck with that. In my experience that's impossible.”  
“Dad,” Cissy interrupted him. “Please, not the story about the drawings.”  
“Why not? I still have that script.”  
His daughter rolled her eyes. “Dad thinks it's extremely funny that I managed to draw all over the script he had to learn while he was napping.”  
Peter laughed and Ben seemed quite amused by the story as well. “I think that's an adorable story,” her boyfriend remarked.  
Cissy groaned. “Well, I'll leave you to the embarrassing stories about my childhood now and help Mum in the kitchen.”

Right after Cissy had excused herself, Ben took Peter by the arm and led him further away from the door and suddenly his stomach tightened into a knot because he remembered a conversation he had had with Cissy months ago and for some reason he knew that the moment had come.  
Ben stopped in the far corner of the living room and smiled at him, uttering a small, nervous laugh. “You know I like to do things traditionally,” he started. “So, there is a question I would like to ask you.”  
Peter forced himself to smile back. Somehow he thought he should have been prepared for this to happen, but as it turned out, he really, really wasn't. Despite the fact that he had come to know Ben, it still felt as if he was about to hand over his daughter to somebody else and once he did, he would had no say in Cissy's life anymore.  
“As you know, the baby wasn't planned and even though I couldn't be happier about it, there's is one thing I still regret a little bit,” Ben said and he sounded a little out of breath as he spoke. “I would have loved to make Cissy my wife before the baby comes so we could be a traditional family like you and Elaine, but it seems we'll have to settle for a date after the baby is born.”  
“Yes,” Peter replied for lack of anything else to say. If Ben could just ask the question and release him from this awkward situation. . .  
“So, I would like to ask your permission to marry your daughter,” he concluded, smiling at Peter.  
For a moment Peter felt tempted to ask about 15 camels in return, but he thought that Ben in his already nervous state would probably not appreciate the joke. Yet Peter wanted so much to joke about it because this entire conversation seemed too serious for his taste.  
“You don't need my permission, Ben,” Peter told him instead. “You're both adults.”  
“Still,” Ben insisted. “I'd like to do things properly.”  
Peter granted him a smile. “Well, if you insist. You have my permission.”  
The young man's face instantly lit up. “Thank you,” he uttered. “It means a lot to me.”  
“ _Dinner is ready!_ ” Elaine's voice came from the kitchen.  
Peter smiled towards Ben, glad that he finally had an excuse to leave the living room. “Better not keep them waiting,” he said.

Peter remained quiet during dinner and focused on the lovely meal Elaine had put together while everyone else discussed nursery décor, suitable toys and all the other things Peter barely heard because he decided to no longer listen to the rest of it. It was at moments like this that it still felt a little surreal and a part of him admired Elaine for dealing with the situation they way she did. The thought of becoming a grandmother seemed to excite rather than frighten her, but then again, she had known about it for while a while longer than he had.  
“Oh, before I forget to tell you,” Elaine suddenly said and turned towards him. “I've seen a script today and I think you should audition for one of the parts. I think the character really suits you.”  
Peter lifted his head and frowned at Elaine. “I'm quite busy at the moment.”  
His wife snorted. “With what? Doodling?”  
Somehow her reaction only made him furrow his brows a little more. “Yes, I'm working on the book,” he replied as if it should have been obvious.  
Elaine granted him a smile. “Doesn't hurt to have a look at some potential real work, does it?”  
“I thought we had agreed that I would work on the book until the right option presents itself,” he blurted out, not really knowing why Elaine was pressing the matter all of a sudden. She had seemed fine with it for the past two months.  
“Yeah, well, you're not exactly looking out for options, are you?”  
Peter didn't care what it looked like, he only knew that he had to end this conversation and the only way he could think of was to rise from his seat. He had thought that Elaine would support him, like she had always done, but apparently that wasn't the case now.  
He turned his back on the dinner table and walked out of the room, up the stairs and closed the office door behind him.

With a sigh Peter sat down at his desk. Had he been so wrong to assume that Elaine had his back in this? Couldn't she understand that he really wanted to work on this art book? That he had no interest in taking up mediocre roles in mediocre shows and movies? Peter hadn't understood it at first, but after working on his drawings for a while he had realized how much he had missed it and how much he really didn't want to go straight back to acting. Jenna had understood. In fact, Jenna had even suggested it. Right now he felt so tempted to call her and tell her about what Elaine had said in front of his daughter and her boyfriend, how she had humiliated him in front of his family. Even though he had said it in a drunken, emotional outburst, right now he felt as if he and Elaine truly weren't equals at all.  
Yet instead of calling Jenna he opened a new page in his sketch book and started to draw her face. By now he didn't even need a picture as reference, he could draw her effortlessly just from his memory.  
A sudden knock on the door interrupted his peace and he didn't even have to ask to know that it was Elaine who had come to tell him to join them for the rest of the evening, but Peter was anything but in the mood for that right now.  
“Please, come back downstairs,” Elaine asked him. “I'm sorry.”  
“I'm busy,” he replied harshly. “I'm working. Or wasting my time, in your opinion.”  
“Peter, please.”  
He set his pencil back down and ignored his wife until she eventually went away and Peter didn't care that he was acting like a child right now. His wife had hurt his feelings in front of everyone else and if he wanted to sulk about that, that was his goddamn right.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your reviews, my faithful readers :)  
> Things aren't going so well for Peter. But what about Jenna?

“Cut!” the director called out and Tom instantly distanced himself from Jenna, dropping the facade that he had only barely managed to keep up in front of the camera. No wonder Lisa had noticed.  
“Alright everyone,” she announced, “let's all have a 10 minute break.”  
Lisa, the director, approached them quickly and Jenna knew that they were in for a lecture. They had been back on set for a while, but circumstances had somehow prevented emotional scenes between her and Tom up until now. He was still mad at her, Jenna could feel and somehow even understand it, but still she had hoped it wouldn't interfere with their work.  
“Are you having a bad day?” Lisa asked once she had reached them and for a brief moment Jenna had no idea what to say. She wasn't having a bad day, the only thing that was ruining her day was Tom's stubborn behaviour.  
“No,” she replied instantly. “Just struggling with this scene a bit.”  
The director turned her attention towards Tom, who glanced at Jenna and then swiftly looked back at Lisa. “No, I just think Jenna is coming on too strong in this scene.”  
“What?!” Jenna blurted out instantly, followed by a laugh. “I'm the Queen of England, if anything I think I should give the scene more gravitas.”  
“Yes, but you're not the Queen of England in this scene. You're Albert's wife.”  
Jenna opened her mouth to respond when the director suddenly cut them off. “I know you're both great at what you're doing, but if this scene lacks anything, then it's romance and intimacy. Can you do that?”  
“Yes,” Tom replied immediately.  
Jenna merely nodded.  
“Good,” Lisa concluded and then turned her back on them to walk outside.

Jenna sighed and she realized that something had to change and when Tom made an attempt to leave she reached out and held him back.  
“Wait,” she told him. “We need to talk.”  
Tom only glared at her. “I don't see why.”  
“You absolutely know why! You broke up with me and there is nothing I should feel guilty about in that respect, so this is your problem and yours alone!” she spat, but then instantly softened her tone. It wasn't entirely true. She had lied to him about Peter staying at her house and that was what had brought about this mess. “Let's just sit down and talk tonight, alright?”  
Tom hesitated and Jenna could no longer hold back the loud and annoyed groan.  
“Tom, if you don't wanna do it for me, that's fine, but at least do it for the show,” she barked at him.  
“Fine,” he hissed. “I'll be at your place by 7.”  
And with that he turned around and left her standing in the middle of the set. Jenna let her shoulders sink and she knew that talking could either make things better or a lot worse.

* * *

“Hello Jenna,” Peter's familiar voice instantly improved her mood and brought a smile to her face. She hadn't heard from him in over a week and figured that he had been busy. Yet still, every time she heard his voice, her heart skipped a little beat. She missed it all, having him around, his gentle hugs, just the two of them hanging out and having a laugh.  
“Hey,” she replied softly and sank down on the sofa. “How are you?”  
There was a pause on the other end of the line and it said more than words ever could.  
“What's the matter, Peter? What's wrong?” she asked immediately.  
He sighed in reply. “It's nothing. Well, not a big thing at least. It's Elaine.”  
“Why? I thought you two were getting along well again.”  
“We were, at least that's what I thought,” he explained. “She keeps pushing me to take on a new acting job. She doesn't say so, but I think she doesn't really believe in the art book. She probably thinks it's utterly silly.”  
“It's not silly and don't you dare give that up,” Jenna replied strictly. “You love working on your drawings and they're getting better each time. The one of the Doctor and Clara dancing was magnificent!”  
“Thank you,” Peter uttered and Jenna thought she could hear one of those shy laughs through the phone.  
“You just keep doing what you love to do,” she told him. “You definitely deserve a break after Doctor Who and I sincerely doubt you'll have to go to the soup kitchen if you delay new acting jobs for a few more months.”  
This time Peter chuckled in earnest. “No, we won't. But how are things going in York?”  
Jenna let out a growl, but at the same time she was glad to get this off her chest. She just knew that she could tell Peter anything. “Tom is being an idiot,” she said. “He's still mad and our work is suffering because he can't get a grip.”  
“I'm sorry to hear that,” he replied sincerely. “Do you think it would help if I talked to him?”  
Jenna snorted. “I think a punch in the face would help a lot more. He was acting like an arse today.”  
Peter remained silent for a long moment and Jenna knew what he was about to say, so she cut him off before he even had a chance.  
“It's not your fault, Peter. If anything at all is to blame for this, then it's Tom's own jealousy. And maybe the fact that I lied to him. You have nothing to do with it.”  
“I'm still sorry that you have to carry the can for it,” he said.

Jenna's hands wandered towards the book that she still hadn't finished reading and she opened it to find Peter's photo that still served as her bookmark. She laughed.  
“I've just found my blackmail material by the way,” Jenna giggled.  
“What blackmail material?”  
“The photo of you in your underwear,” she replied, smiling at the polaroid photograph. “It's hilarious.”  
Peter growled in response, but didn't say anything. What she would give to travel back in time and just relive the days when Peter had lived with her.  
“Do you-” she broke off, knowing how silly it must sound to him.  
“Do I what?”  
She didn't really know why, but all of a sudden Jenna felt a little nervous, a little jittery. “I was just thinking that I kinda miss having you around. I was. . . I was just wondering if-”  
“I miss it, too,” Peter replied without hesitation. “Every day.”  
For some reason his answer really didn't help with her nervousness at all and Jenna had to sit up, only now noticing that her heartbeat was completely out of control. She wanted those days back. She wanted Peter here with her. And yes, a part of her, no matter how deep she buried it inside her mind, also wanted to repeat the kiss.  
Jenna wasn't quite sure whether to be relieved or annoyed when the door bell rang and upon checking her watch she realized that it could only be Tom.  
“I'm sorry, Peter, I've got to go now,” she said. “I invited Tom over to talk.”  
“Oh, uhm,” even in his hesitation he sounded disappointed. “Alright. That's, erm, that's good. Talk to you soon?”  
“Absolutely,” she reassured him. “Good night.”  
“Night.”

Jenna hung up and walked towards the door, greeting Tom with a smile once she opened up for him. However, Tom didn't seem in the mood to smile back.  
“Alright, I'm here,” he said. “Let's talk.”  
Jenna inhaled deeply and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Can't you at least pretend to be friendly? We've been friends for years before we became a couple!”  
“Yes, but you never betrayed me in all those years, Jenna,” he barked at her. “You were a good friend, but an utterly lousy girlfriend.”  
“Okay, can you save that for after you've come inside? The neighbours don't need to listen to this.”  
When Tom nodded Jenna started making her way towards the kitchen and switched on the kettle while Tom didn't even bother to take off his coat. It was obvious that he wasn't planning on staying for very long.  
While the water was beginning to boil, Jenna turned around and looked at him.  
“I'm sorry,” she said sincerely. “You're absolutely right. I was a terrible girlfriend. The truth is, I think we've just always been better as friends and it took me too long to realize it. I've always appreciated your friendship, but I didn't treat you well while we were in a relationship. I'm sorry about that.”  
Again Tom nodded.  
“I shouldn't have lied to you about Peter staying with me. I knew you didn't like him. I didn't understand why, but that doesn't justify what I've done,” she went on. “But I never betrayed you, Tom. The only thing that ever happened between Peter and me was a kiss and that's it.”  
In reply he furrowed his eyebrows at her as if he still didn't quite believe it, but Jenna didn't let that stop herself.  
“I'm not asking to get back together, really, I'm not. All I want is for us to work together like two reasonable adults and maybe, if you find it in your heart to forgive me for lying to you, we can become friends again, but that's entirely up to you.”  
“You two seemed so. . . comfortable around each other,” Tom said eventually. “And I've seen it in the newspapers, too. They also thought you were out on the date.”  
Jenna sighed. “It's the Daily Mail, Tom. They always make up this kind of crap. The photo that looks like I'm touching Peter's face is really me, pulling a piece of popcorn out of his hair.”  
Suddenly he chuckled and Jenna couldn't help but laugh as well.  
“Tom, I've loved our friendship. But I can't be in a relationship with someone who is going to be jealous of every other male friend that I have.”  
“Yeah, I get it.”  
Behind Jenna the kettle switched off and she granted Tom a reluctant smile. “So, wanna take off your coat and stay for a cup of tea?”  
“Yeah,” he breathed, “why not?”

Armed with two cups of tea Jenna and Tom made their way into the living room and while she was still carefully setting the cups down on the coffee table, Tom had already walked further into the room and stopped next to her book.  
“How stupid do you think I am, Jenna?”  
She raised her head and to her horror Jenna instantly realized that Tom had found the polaroid photo of Peter in his underwear.  
“It's not-”  
“What it looks like?!” Tom spat and threw the photograph back onto the sofa. “I came this close to believing you!”  
Jenna took a deep breath. “Tom, what I told you was the truth,” she explained quietly.  
“You keep saying that and yet I keep finding more and more evidence that you're taking me for a fool!”  
“Tom-”  
“No, Jenna,” he barked. “This time I've had it.”  
And this time Jenna didn't even attempt to stop him while he rushed out of her flat because she knew that it wouldn't amount to anything at all. Tom would never listen to anything but exactly what he wanted to hear and she was tired of trying to convince him of the truth when he didn't want to believe it at all.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your comments!!! I promise, Peter and Jenna will be reunited. . . in time. But until then, let's see what they get up to. . .

“I just needed to get out of the house for a bit,” Peter told his wife over the phone while he was trying his best to see what was going on in front of the windshield. The rain was coming down heavily and he half regretted choosing this day to go outside.  
“It's raining like mad, Peter,” Elaine argued.  
“In 100 metres, turn left,” the voice of his sat-nav rang through the momentary silence.  
Peter sighed. “Listen, I'm almost there. I'm just gonna take a couple of photos of the old cloister ruins and then I'll be back.”  
“You could have waited until tomorrow. I would have come with you.”  
Peter turned around the corner and drove into the forest, down what he suspected to be a quite muddy path. It was amazing his sat-nav still knew where he was because he had no idea. Peter had very little navigation skills and apart from the fact that he was just outside London he had no clue where the hell he was.  
“Please turn around.”  
Peter let out a groan. He had taken a wrong turn. “Elaine, I'll see you later, alright? Bye.”  
He threw his phone onto the passenger seat and leaned forward. Under the trees the rain wasn't quite so heavy and he waited for an occasion to turn his car around and head towards the cloister ruins that, according to the sat-nav, were quite close. Yet when he tried to turn around he felt one of the tyres sink into a puddle that had been a little deeper than he would have expected. He stepped on the gas pedal, but nothing happened. Peter heard the sound of mud being propelled in all directions and that of his tyres as they worked their way deeper into the mud.  
“Oh, come on,” he groaned and pushed the pedal to the ground. Yet all he did was to dig himself in deeper.  
“Damn!” Peter cursed loudly and slammed his flat hand against the steering wheel. Maybe this should be a lesson to him not to act on impulse because that rarely went well for him. He had been a little frustrated with his drawings today and Elaine hadn't actually provided a lot of support for that of late, so he had grabbed his camera and decided to go out. The cloister ruins outside of London has seemed like a good idea at the time, but that was before the rain had started and now he was stuck out here and would have to rely on the roadside assistance to help him out.

A sudden knock on his car window startled him and Peter turned around to see a man with an umbrella standing next to his car. With a sigh he rolled his window down.  
The man was probably 10 or 15 years older than himself and despite the weather he wore a friendly smile on his face. “Looks like you're in a bit a situation there.”  
“You can say that again,” Peter growled.  
Yet despite everything the old man remained cheerful. “I could pull you out once the rain stops. Got a jeep with four wheel drive, shouldn't be a problem.”  
“Really?” Peter let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, that would be great.”  
“No problem,” the man replied. “I used to get stuck here a lot with my old car, I know what it's like.”  
“Well, I hope you know that you're an angel.”  
“Do you want to come inside? Have a cup of coffee until the rain stops? Shouldn't take longer than an hour I suspect, I checked the rain radar on my phone.”  
Peter made a mental note to look up what a rain radar app did because it sounded like a handy thing to have on one's phone, but still he raised an eyebrow. “Come in where?”  
The old man pointed to a spot behind him and for the first time Peter saw the small, lonely house in the middle of the woods that he had so far not taken any notice of.  
“Sure, thank you,” he replied.

The man introduced himself as Arthur while he led Peter into the small house and for some reason Peter started to envy him for this place. The house was basically in the middle of nowhere and yet less than an hour away from London and it had a cosy, almost romantic vibe to it. There was a small hall and behind that the living room and kitchen. Through the large glass window Peter could spot a lake.  
“Excuse the state of this place,” Arthur said as he put on the kettle. “I bought it over twenty years ago and I just don't have the strength to do all the necessary repairs anymore.”  
“It's a lovely house,” Peter stated while took a closer look. Sure, the walls could do with a repaint and maybe a new carpet was in order, but overall it wasn't nearly as bad as Arthur made it sound.  
“So,” Arthur said as he handed Peter a mug of instant coffee and sank down on the sofa. Peter reluctantly took a seat next to him, but still he was unable to tear his gaze away from the large window and the beautiful, yet currently rainy landscape behind it. “What brings you out here?”  
“Oh, uhm, I was looking for the cloister ruins,” he explained. “Wanted to take some pictures.”  
“Right, the ruins.” A flicker of recognition passed over the man's face. “You took a wrong turn. They're not far. Just back to the main road and the next turn left.”  
“Thanks,” Peter smiled at him and sipped his coffee. “I hope I'll have better luck next time.”  
The drink was gruesome, but still he had to admit that there was a charm to being out here on a rainy day. The house. The solitude. It had something to it that he liked.  
Apparently Arthur had noticed that Peter kept looking around the place, so he continued to talk. “My wife and I bought this place together back then. It was sort of our retirement retreat, but,” he hesitated, “she's not so good on her feet anymore and I can't do the work all my myself. In fact, I've come here to start cleaning the place out.”  
Peter's eyes widened. “You're not gonna sell this place, are you?” He couldn't imagine why on earth Arthur would want to give it up.  
He shrugged. “I've hardly come out here anymore in the past two years. There isn't really any point in keeping it.”  
“But all those memories-”  
Arthur scoffed and made a dismissive gesture. “There are plenty of memories in our London house. No, it's time to sell it to someone who can actually take care of it.”

All of a sudden Peter was possessed by an idea. It was mad, he was very much aware of that, but still he loved to entertain the thought. For a brief moment he pictured himself owning this house, this little refuge away from the city, away from everyone else. With a bit of weeding the back garden would be like paradise on a sunny day, especially with the lake nearby.  
“Well, since you're preparing to sell,” Peter said, “would you mind showing me around?”  
Arthur shrugged. “Not at all. Come along.”  
The man led him back through the hall and into the next room, obviously the bedroom. It was small, but cosy and it also had a nice view on the lake even though the window was a bit smaller. There was a bathroom with a tub and another, smaller spare room.  
“There's also a garage for the car, but I've only ever used it to store my fishing rods,” Arthur explained with a laugh. “It's a simple house for simple needs. Just a place for the weekends.”  
The man was absolutely right. It was small and simple and it needed some work, but to Peter it seemed magical right now and maybe it was just exactly what he needed. The house was in a good state overall and he could fix the rest by himself or with the help of friends. New paint, new floor and especially new furniture. It wasn't as if he lacked the money for it.  
“How much do you want for it?” he asked out of the blue.  
“What?” Arthur chuckled. “You're not thinking about buying it, are you?”  
Peter smiled at him in response. “That's exactly what I'm thinking about.”  
The man seemed a little perplexed at first and started to shuffle his feet nervously. “I haven't actually thought much about that. And I'm sure you'd want to sleep on that.”  
“No need,” he shook his head. “I'll buy it.”  
Just half an hour ago Peter had told himself not to act on impulse, but how could he resist this opportunity? He would need a new hobby now that he was no longer Doctor Who and this house seemed like the perfect one.  
“How about we pull your car out of the mud first and talk about the details after?” Arthur suggested.  
Peter agreed with a smile, but he already knew that he wasn't going to change his mind.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your sweet comments. I don't think any of us would really mind living in that little house with Peter ;-)  
> But what will Elaine say to that?

Peter loved the smell of cinnamon and tangerines that hung in the air and he loved having his family around. He was so glad that despite having their own flat now Cissy and Ben had decided to spend Christmas at home with him and Elaine and after dinner they had all retreated to the living room to pass the time until his last Doctor Who episode aired. Peter took a sip from his mug of mulled wine and couldn't help but feel a little sentimental about today. Even though it had been almost six months since his last day on set, today this era would truly come to an end. A part of him was wondering whether Jenna would watch it and what she was up to right now.  
“Could you pass me the crisps?” Cissy asked, tearing him out of his thoughts.  
Peter smiled at his daughter in reply and handed over the bowl, but suddenly his daughter flinched and swiftly drew her hand back.  
“Are you okay?” Ben asked immediately.  
Cissy nodded. “Yeah, just a not so gentle kick. Can't wait for this to be over.”  
Peter sighed and leaned back against the sofa once more. If it was up to him, he could wait for a while longer. A part of him was excited about his grandchild, and yet, as soon as it was born, it would be proof of the fact that he was truly old. Yet he knew that it was almost time. After the holidays Cissy would go into the hospital and give birth to a beautiful boy or girl and Peter knew that he would love the child unconditionally. But that didn't mean he had to love what exactly a grandchild meant for him.  
“I think I'm gonna go for a little walk,” his daughter announced and Ben immediately jumped up to help her up from her seat.

“You're very quiet today,” Elaine remarked once they were alone. “Is it because of Doctor Who?”  
Peter granted her a soft smile and then nodded even though it wasn't entirely true. He was quiet and thoughtful for a number of reasons, Doctor Who being only one of them. Becoming a grandfather still weighed quite heavy on his mind and then there was the fact that a few months ago he had turned the tables and now he was the one keeping a secret from Elaine. Peter couldn't even say why he was doing it. Maybe it was some silly way to get back at her, maybe he thought that she would laugh at him, but the truth was that a while back Peter had bought a house and so far he hadn't told Elaine anything about that.  
It was even a little exciting, if he was completely honest, to sneak out whenever Elaine was working and drive out of the city to work on renovating the place. He had already made a couple of friends who lived close-by, men his own age, who were happy to help in exchange for a beer and an excuse to get away from their wives. Together they had already finished renovating the living room, kitchen and the bedroom and they had cleaned out the garage as well. But that was only the beginning.  
Dave, one of the guys who had helped him out from the start, had always wanted to buy another drum set after dabbling with it as a teenager, but his wife had never let him. Peter had kindly offered his garage as a space for him to practice and then, one day, John had brought his keyboard along. Now their meetings usually consisted of a few hours of work, followed by an hour of band practice. How was Peter supposed to tell Elaine about any of that? She would laugh and tell him how silly it was and it occurred to him that maybe Jenna was right. Maybe he was truly having a midlife crisis.

Jenna. Peter still missed her, even today, maybe especially today and suddenly he was struck by an idea. Peter drew out his phone and looked at it.  
“Oh, Steven's calling,” he lied, glancing at Elaine. “I'm gonna take this.”  
Elaine nodded. “Sure. Give him my best.”  
And with that Peter excused himself and walked upstairs into his office to make a private call.

* * *

“Merry Christmas!”  
“Peter,” Jenna uttered, beaming at the phone in her hand. “Now there's a surprise. I thought you had forgotten about me.”  
They hadn't spoken in a while and Jenna hadn't really minded because Christmas was her first holiday in a very long time. Victoria would wrap at the end of January, but until then she was going to be very busy and she had assumed that the same held true for Peter and his art.  
“Yes, obviously someone came at me with a neural block and erased you from my head,” Peter joked, followed by a dry laugh.  
Jenna chuckled. “Figured that was what happened,” she replied. “How are you? How's the art book coming along?”  
“The book is coming along quite well. Did some Tom Baker stuff lately, it's looking good.”  
“You must have like 1000 drawings by now. Have you been working on them non-stop?” Jenna enquired curiously cause she couldn't really imagine any other reason for him not to call her.  
“Uhm, not quite,” he hesitated. “I, uhm, I've sort of got a new hobby.”  
“A new hobby?” Jenna asked. “Tell me.”  
Yet Peter remained silent on the other end of the line.  
“Peter?” she chuckled. “Come on, out with it.”  
“I'd rather tell you in person. Or even better, show you.”  
“Is it something really embarrassing?” Jenna laughed. Now she was really curious. “Something like pottery or knitting? Come on, tell me. _Please_.”  
“Really, I'd rather show you. I'm sure you'll like it – or laugh at me.” He paused. “But enough about me. How's your Christmas?”  
Jenna sank deeper into the cushions of the armchair and sighed. “Nice. Quiet. I'm home with my family and there was way too much food. Currently up in my room, waiting for the Christmas special to air.”  
“It's a shame we can't watch it together,” Peter replied after a moment.

Jenna remained quiet for a moment, yet she knew that she could only agree with him. They hadn't actually seen each other since he had moved out of her house except for a quick cup of coffee months ago. She missed him a lot, but she also knew that hanging out with him over prolonged periods of time was probably a bad idea. Jenna had feelings for him, romantic feelings, and she hadn't been aware of them until he had kissed her, but now that she knew it was hard to ignore how fast her heart was beating whenever they talked. But then again, she really missed him terribly.  
“I'm gonna be in London after January,” she said eventually. “Maybe we can get together then and give it a rewatch.”  
“I would love that,” Peter said and Jenna thought she could hear him smile even through the phone. “I miss you.”  
“I miss you, too,” she confessed heavily. They had to change the topic, otherwise she would be tempted to go and visit him straight away. Then she thought of the perfect subject to talk about. “Hey, how's Cissy doing by the way?”  
“Oh, she'd doing great,” he replied, but his voice lacked the enthusiasm that he usually had when he talked about his daughter.  
Jenna raised her eyebrows. “Still scared of becoming a grandfather?”  
“Terrified,” Peter chuckled.  
“It's gonna be fine,” she reassured him. “You'll love your grandchild and you'll raise it to be a nerd, I'm sure of it.”  
Peter cleared his throat.  
“What?” Jenna laughed.  
“Well, uhm, I may have bought one of those Adipose plush toys for the baby,” he admitted.  
“Peter!” she giggled. Jenna could imagine it only too well. “Like I said, it doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl, it's definitely gonna be a nerd.”  
“It better be,” he replied.  
Jenna sighed. If it was in any way possible she would have loved to jump through the phone and throw her arms around Peter in a tight embrace, she would have loved to just sit next to him, lean her head on his shoulder and stay like that for the rest of the night.  
“I should probably go back downstairs and see what my parents are up to,” Jenna said instead before the wrong words came out of her mouth.  
“I should go back to the others as well,” Peter replied.  
“But definitely message me with an update of your book, okay? I wanna see the new drawings.”  
“I will,” he promised. “Have a nice evening.”  
“You, too,” she replied before Peter eventually hung up. It didn't really seem to matter how much time passed, her feelings for Peter didn't change and by now she was painfully aware of them.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your comments, guys! I'm glad to be part of your morning routine, but I'm afraid after next week it'll become more of an evening routine. I can post at noon now because I'm still on sick leave, but after next week I'll be back at work and posting in the late afternoon.  
> But enough about me. . . have some Peter :)

It all happened so quickly that Peter barely had time to comprehend what was going on. One moment he was asleep, dreaming about a lovely day on the set of Doctor Who, hiding from an alien in a cupboard together with Jenna and the next moment he was rudely woken up.  
“Peter!” Elaine was shaking him. “Peter, wake up!”  
“Mhhh,” he grumbled in response and turned on his side. He just wanted to go back to sleep, go back into the dream.  
“Peter, Cissy is in labour!”  
Peter sat up with a start upon hearing these words. No, it couldn't be. It was only Boxing Day and Cissy wasn't supposed to go into the hospital until after the holidays.  
“What?!” he barked and instantly threw his duvet aside. “How? She wasn't supposed to have the baby for another few days!”  
“Well, Ben just called,” Elaine told him and she sounded too calm for what was going on. “The contractions started in the middle of the night and he drove her straight to the hospital. He says she's doing fine.”  
Peter swallowed hard, but still the news wouldn't quite sink in. His daughter, his little daughter was in the process of giving birth to her baby.  
“Come on, get dressed.” Elaine made an impatient hand gesture. “Off to the hospital.”

As soon as Peter had managed to put his trousers on Elaine ushered him towards the passenger seat of the car and right now he felt glad that he didn't have to drive because he really didn't feel like he was in the right state for that. His daughter was about to have a baby and he was shaking with both excitement and nervousness.  
“How can you be so calm?” Peter asked his wife while she was navigating her way through the unusually quiet streets to the hospital.  
“Someone has to,” she replied and then, for a brief moment, she turned her head and chuckled. “You look like you're about to have a nervous breakdown.”  
He inhaled deeply. “I'm not sure I'm not about to have one,” he said in return.  
Peter drew the phone out of his pocket and realized that it was 4 am and too early to call anyone. Jenna was still asleep and even though he would have loved to call her and tell her what was happening, he knew that she would never pick up.  
“It's gonna be fine,” Elaine reassured him. “Cissy and the baby will be fine.”  
“I know,” Peter breathed in reply while he slid his phone back into his pocket. “I know they will.”

The car ride to the hospital seemed endless and when they had finally arrived all Peter could do was to tag along after Elaine while she phoned Ben to ask where exactly Cissy was inside this massive building. Once again he felt utterly useless because there was nothing he could do, nothing at all. When they had finally found the maternity ward both Peter and Elaine sat down next to Ben to do the one thing they could do: wait.  
“One moment we were sleeping and the next moment the contractions started,” Ben explained to Elaine. “We waited for a bit because it had happened before, but when they got worse I drove her straight here.”  
Elaine nodded. “How long as she been in there?” she wanted to know.  
“Bit over two hours now. The doctors said they didn't know how long it was going to take.”  
Peter sighed. He couldn't sit here for for God knows how long. He needed to do something. Anything. “Hey, how about I get us some coffee or tea? Sounds like we're gonna need it,” he suggested.  
“I'll have a coffee,” his wife told him.  
“Same for me,” Ben agreed.  
“Good,” Peter said after a deep breath. “I'll be right back.”  
As soon as he had vanished around the nearest corner Peter once more reached for his phone and this time he stopped to type a message.

_At the hospital. Cissy is having her baby. Don't know what to do._

He sent the text to Jenna and inhaled deeply once again. She wouldn't see the message until she woke up and Peter prayed that it would be soon. He wanted to much to talk to her because he felt as if he was losing his mind and somehow he knew that Elaine really wouldn't appreciate a nervous breakdown.  
After returning with their beverages the three of them waited and waited. At some point Ben started to approach every doctor that crossed the corridor because after a few hours even he was beginning to lose his composure, but they could only tell him to wait for a while longer. The only person who remained calm and cheerful was the one who knew exactly what childbirth was like and even though Elaine kept reassuring them that nothing would happen to either Cissy or the baby, Peter couldn't help but feel utterly nervous.  
Then, finally, at 6 am in the morning, a doctor stepped outside and smiled at them. Ben and Peter both jumped up from their seats at the same time.  
“Congratulations,” the doctor said towards Ben. “You're the father of a healthy baby girl.”  
Peter's heart leapt with joy when he heard the words and for a moment he ignored the happy crying and cheering from both Elaine and Ben and took a moment to let the news sink in. A baby girl. Peter was now officially a grandfather. He had a granddaughter, a healthy baby granddaughter and right now he couldn't wait to actually see her.  
However, when the doctor held the door open and Peter made an attempt to follow Ben inside, Elaine held him back.  
“Wait for a bit,” she told him gently. “Let them have a moment.”  
Peter turned around and beamed at her. How had he been so worried all of this time? “We're grandparents,” he uttered.  
Elaine laughed at him in response. “You're only getting that now, are you?” she asked and placed her arm around his shoulder. Peter was still trembling. “Don't worry, we'll see her in a bit.”

It didn't even take long before the door opened once again and Ben stepped outside, smiling broadly, but still Peter could see that he had been crying. Yes, he had been wrong about the young man at first. Ben was probably better for Cissy than he had assumed.  
When Peter and Elaine stepped through the door Cissy was already waiting for them and even though she looked exhausted, Peter didn't think he had ever seen her so happy. And in her arms she held the small bundle that was his granddaughter.  
“Mum, Dad,” she said and nodded towards the baby in her arms, “say hello to Abigail.”  
Peter stepped closer and suddenly found it impossible to tear his eyes away from the angelic, little face. His granddaughter was sleeping peacefully and he didn't think he had ever seen anything more beautiful than her – apart from his own daughter, of course.  
“That's a beautiful name,” Elaine remarked, beaming at the little child in Cissy's arms.  
“Can I hold her?” Peter couldn't help but ask.  
Cissy nodded and carefully lowered the baby into his arms and while she and Elaine discussed how she was feeling and how they had come up with the name, Peter only had eyes for the little infant in his arms. It would be amazing. All those things he had done with Cissy as a child, the games, the trips to the zoo and to the countryside, he could do them all over again with little Abigail. He had only held her for a minute and he was already in love.

The moment didn't last nearly long enough when Elaine announced that Cissy needed to rest and Peter hated it when he had to hand the baby back to his daughter even though he knew that he would have countless opportunities to hold her again.  
Then, as soon as he stepped onto the corridor he felt the phone buzz in his pocket and he drew it out to see Jenna's name on the screen. He looked up for a moment and realized that Ben and Elaine were discussion something and he used the moment to disappear around the corner.  
“I'm a grandfather!” Peter blurted out immediately after he had answered the phone.  
He heard Jenna laugh in response. “You sound happy. Did it all go well?”  
“Yes and yes,” he laughed. “I have a granddaughter and she is the most gorgeous thing in the entire world. Her name is Abigail and she is beautiful, Jen, you need to see her.”  
“Well, you can send me a picture,” she suggested happily.  
“I will. I absolutely will!”  
Again Jenna laughed on the other end of the line. “You're absolutely besotted, aren't you?”  
“I am,” Peter admitted and right now he felt like the happiest man alive. All those worries, all the nervousness. It had been so pointless.  
“Well, I'm happy for you,” Jenna replied sincerely. “And I expect to see picture and hear every detail, okay?”  
“I could come and visit you next weekend,” Peter suddenly suggested out of the blue. He had no idea where it had come from, but right now he just wanted to see her as soon as possible.  
Jenna snorted. “I'll be in York, Peter. But I'm back in London at the end of January.”  
“I'll come to York then,” he insisted, completely ignoring the rest of what she had said. “We'll watch Doctor Who, I'll show you baby photos and tell you every little thing.”  
For a moment there was a silence between the two of them while Jenna hesitated to answer and for a while he feared that she was going to turn him down.  
“Alright,” she said eventually. “But only if you really don't mind the drive.”  
“I don't,” Peter reassured her instantly. “I look forward to seeing you.”  
“So do I,” she replied. “And in the meantime: spoil your new granddaughter.”  
“Oh, I will,” he promised. “Bye, Jen.”  
“Bye.”

When Peter hung up he felt his heart light up with joy. He had a beautiful, healthy granddaughter and he was going to see Jenna soon. Life really couldn't get any better than this.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You asked for a reunion? Here is a reunion :D  
> Thank you all so very much for your sweet comments!

“And cut!” Lisa called across the set and Jenna could tell from her voice that she was pleased. When the director announced that they had all done a great job and called it a day, Jenna let her shoulders sink and exhaled audibly. She was knackered and couldn't wait to get out of this corset. Then she turned her head and spotted Peter waving at her from across the room.  
He had given his hair a little trim since she had last seen him, but still the amount of silver curls on his head was inconspicuous and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face while she was making her way towards him.  
Jenna wanted so much to hug him right now, yet to her surprise Peter didn't initiate it. Instead he went down on his knee and bowed his head.  
“My queen,” he said and reached for her hand before he kissed the back of it.  
Jenna laughed at him. “Are you trying to throw your back out?”  
Yet when he came back up Peter finally gave her the warm, tight hug Jenna had missed for the past few months and she wrapped her arms around him in return, for a moment just enjoying the warmth and the scent of him. She didn't want to let him go because for a brief moment she could pretend that he was her Peter.  
“I've missed you,” she said sincerely and she didn't care how it looked like to anyone else still walking around on set. Tom, who still believed they were having an affair, wasn't here today. The rest didn't matter.  
“I've missed you, too,” he replied and suddenly distanced himself from her. Jenna hated it when their hug ended, but she soon found Peter looking at her, grinning broadly, and suddenly she felt a little nervous under his gaze. “You look absolutely stunning, do you know that?”  
She uttered a soft laugh. “Stop flattering me,” Jenna replied when she felt the heat rise into her cheeks.  
“It's true,” Peter insisted. “Here you are, a gorgeous queen, star of your own show. I'm so proud of you.”  
“Stop it,” she giggled and then uttered a sound of surprise when Peter suddenly took her by the hand and twirled her around as if during a dance.  
“See, a true queen. Got the flowing dress and all.”  
“Alright, alright,” Jenna chuckled. “Now, please, let's go back to my trailer so I can take this dress off. It's pretty to look at, but horrible to breathe in.”

When Peter agreed Jenna led him back to her trailer and while he sat down Jenna vanished behind the small partition and started to take off her dress.  
“How was the drive?” she wanted to know and reached behind her back to open the lacing.  
“Uhm, quiet for a Friday afternoon. I had expected more traffic,” he explained.  
“That's good,” she remarked and stretched her arm a little, but something seemed stuck on the back of her corset and Jenna couldn't quite figure out what it was.  
“Do you need any help there?”  
“No, I'm fine,” Jenna replied immediately and tried to reach that part with her other hand, but that seemed even more fruitless.  
“Are you sure?”  
Jenna uttered a long sigh when she realized that she could indeed do with some help. And going back all the way to the costume department when Peter was right here seemed a little silly. “No,” she said. “Some help would be nice.”  
Peter didn't hesitate to rise from his seat and a moment later he stepped behind the partition and obviously spotted her dilemma in an instant. He chuckled softly as he stepped closer and Jenna felt him reach for one of the strings of the lacing. Her entire body grew tense in anticipation of his touch.  
“There's a knot in there,” Peter explained and while he spoke his breath was palpable on the skin of her neck. A sudden shiver ran across her body.  
“That explains it,” she replied, chuckling nervously, and then Jenna felt him tuck at her corset. “Wh-what are you doing? If the knot is undone, it's fine, I can handle the rest.”  
“It's okay, I don't mind,” he said while he continued to unlace her corset and Jenna wasn't sure whether she loved or hated the moment, she couldn't decide when her brain was so busy taking in every little sensation. “Are you cold?”  
“No,” Jenna breathed. “Why?”  
“Goosebumps,” Peter said softly and then, all of a sudden, his hands were gone. “There. I believe you can handle the rest.”  
Jenna turned around to look at him and saw that Peter was smiling at her. He looked so happy, so content and all of a sudden she felt extremely guilty. He was just being nice like he always was, always the perfect gentleman, and she couldn't get her own feelings under control.  
“Yes,” she replied a little breathlessly. “Yes, I can.”

They said very little while Jenna changed back into her normal clothes and only when they had left the trailer and got into Peter's car did her mood light up. Peter handed her his phone and told her to swipe through the gallery where he had taken dozens of pictures of little Abigail and he went on to tell her how gorgeous his little granddaughter was.  
“She is adorable,” Jenna remarked with a smile on her face. “She looks like an angel.”  
Peter laughed. “I bet Cissy and Ben would disagree with that. They won't get a good night's sleep for a while, I'm afraid.”  
“Yeah, unless you'll offer to babysit, which I'm sure you will,” Jenna chuckled.  
“Absolutely,” Peter agreed and turned to look at the road ahead while he was driving them to her favourite restaurant in town, but the smile was still stuck on his face.  
It was then that it dawned on Jenna that he had never told her about the new hobby that he had mentioned during their phone call at Christmas and her curiosity was suddenly revived.  
“Now, are you gonna tell me about that mysterious hobby of yours?”  
Peter snorted. “Are you sure you want to know?”  
Jenna gave him a soft nudge. “Yes, now tell me.”  
While they stopped at a red light Peter turned his head in her direction and sighed. Somehow Jenna had the impression that despite his happiness he looked a bit stricken. “I bought a house.”  
She frowned at him in reply. “You bought. . . a house?”  
“And I'm the singer and guitarist in a band,” Peter explained with a laugh.  
For a moment Jenna thought that he was joking, that he was making up something ridiculous so the real hobby wouldn't sound nearly as bad, but when Peter made no move to correct himself, it was beginning to dawn on Jenna that maybe he wasn't pulling her leg after all.  
“Oh my God,” she uttered. “You really are having a midlife crisis, aren't you?”  
When the traffic light turned green Peter sighed and continued to drive towards the restaurant. “It just happened, really. I hadn't planned any of it. One day I drove out of the city to take photos of some old cloister ruins and got lost and this man helped me out and he showed me his house that he wanted to sell and I just-” he paused. “I fell in love with it. It's very quiet, practically in the middle of the woods, and it's small and cosy with a lake close by. I've got photos on my phone if you want to see some.”  
“I'd love to,” Jenna replied. “So, you really bought a house out of the blue?”  
Peter laughed and gave a shrug. “I know it sounds crazy, but I didn't want to pass up the opportunity. And renovating it has been so much fun. I've met a couple of guys who live in the area and they're all really nice and they're helping me out a lot and we've discovered that we all love music, so we meet a couple of times a week and just jam.”  
Jenna couldn't help but smile at him. “It makes you really happy, doesn't it?”  
“Yeah,” Peter sighed. “It really does.”  
“What about Elaine?” Jenna wanted to know. “I mean, you said she wasn't so fond of the idea of you making that fanart book. Somehow I can't imagine-”  
“I haven't told her,” he cut her off and suddenly Jenna understood why he had seemed a little torn earlier. “Elaine doesn't know about the house or the band. She wouldn't approve.”  
Jenna furrowed her eyebrows at him. “So you're lying to her?”  
Peter turned his head and looked at her for a long moment. “No, not lying,” he said eventually. “I'm just not telling her everything.”  
For a moment she had no idea what to say. Somehow she knew that it wasn't right of Peter to keep the house and the band a secret from his wife, but a part of her could also understand why he was so stubborn in protecting his new hobbies. Peter and Elaine seemed to have issues that had been building up over decades and even though he continued to praise his wife, the facade had crumbled during that night they had had a bit too much wine. All those problems he had Elaine had, they hadn't just appeared over night and it would take effort from both sides to fix them. However, Peter didn't really seem as if he wanted to fix them at the moment. 

“Is that the restaurant?” Peter's voice tore her out of her thoughts and Jenna looked up, only now realizing that they had indeed reached their destination.  
“Yep, that's the one,” she replied.  
“Alright,” he said and when Jenna looked at him he was beaming at her. “Let me treat you to a nice dinner, okay? To celebrate your success as queen.”  
Jenna giggled. “Shouldn't I treat you? I mean, you're the one who just became a grandfather.”  
He shook his head. “Out of the question. Come on, I'm starving.”  
She chuckled as she followed him out of the car and towards the restaurant and as they walked she hooked her arm into his. “You're always starving.”


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *group hug* Thank you for your sweet comments!  
> So, you've enjoyed the reunion? Let's see how you enjoy this. . .
> 
> Oh, and since some of you asked and it's not that explicitly mentioned in the story: Peter told Elaine exactly what he was going to do, that he would go to York to see Jenna.

Peter woke up surprisingly early and for some reason he was too excited to go back to sleep. He was finally in York, visiting Jenna, and they would have a whole day together until he needed to go back home tomorrow. It was going to be amazing and he had so many ideas for what they could do that the anticipation drove him straight out of bed.  
The rest of the flat was quiet and Peter assumed that Jenna was still asleep, so he sneaked into the kitchen and set out to prepare a nice breakfast. He was so happy to see her again, to spend time with her for more than just the duration of a cup of coffee and he didn't want to waste a single minute of this weekend. With Jenna everything seemed so easy. He had told her about the house and the band and she still supported his endeavour to publish his fanart book. True, she had laughed at him when he had mentioned his new hobbies, but despite that she wanted him to do what made him happy and that was the kind of support he needed right now. After working on Doctor Who for almost four whole years Peter felt as if he needed a break and that he wanted to enjoy his freedom, but that was something his wife sadly didn't understand.  
Armed with a tray filled with bread rolls and jam and cheese and two mugs of steaming coffee Peter made his way towards Jenna's bedroom.  
“Come in,” she mumbled sleepily after a careful knock.  
At first Jenna looked a little confused, but then she started to laugh when she realized just what was going on. It was at that moment that Peter noticed just how much he missed that time during which he had lived with Jenna. He missed having her around at all times, he missed their banter and the way she looked when she had only just woken up. He just missed Jenna all the time.  
“Breakfast in bed?” he suggested.  
She scooted over to make room for him and Peter set the tray down between the two of them and sank down onto the mattress. Jenna instantly reached for one of the rolls that he had warmed up in the oven and inhaled the smell.  
“Mhhhh,” she hummed happily and then turned to look at him. “What exactly have I done to deserve this?”  
“Well,” Peter craned his neck a little and smiled. “I wanted to do something nice for you because you're going to the Viking Centre and Whitewall Galleries with me today?”  
“Oh, am I?” Jenna asked teasingly. “That's good to know.”  
Peter lowered his gaze to the food and picked one of the croissants. “Only if you want to, of course. But I was up early and thought about how we could spend the day and-”  
“I want to,” she cut him off and when Peter looked at her he found that she was smiling. “I've never been to either of them. And afterwards we'll cry our eyes out over our horrible acting in the Christmas special.”  
Peter snorted. “You mean _my_ horrible acting?”  
Jenna leaned forward and nudged him in the ribs, laughing. “Shut up.”

After breakfast they headed outside and Peter drove them straight to the Viking Centre that he was very eager to see, yet he still asked Jenna if she was okay with what he had planned. She reassured him happily that whatever he had picked out, she would come along.  
They made fun of the exhibits, compared them to the slightly more modern ones used on Doctor Who and Peter laughed when Jenna suggested they should have put the Doctor in a Viking outfit as well.  
“At least Clara had a vest, she was trying to fit in,” she complained.  
Peter chuckled. “If I remember correctly, they only gave you that vest because you complained about being cold.”  
“I _had_ a cold,” Jenna argued. “I felt so miserable.”  
He remembered it vividly and he also remembered showing up on Jenna's doorstep that night with tea and biscuits and a few packets of instant soup.  
“I loved it when you showed up and made me soup,” Jenna suddenly said. Peter turned his head and found that she was looking somewhere between nostalgic and thoughtful, but still the corners of her mouth twitched and turned into a smile.  
Somehow he thought that right now he would love to go back to that moment. It was one of two nights that they had spent in the same bed because Jenna had been sick and he had been lonely and just having her there, right next to him, had suddenly made everything a little more homely. It was so strange, so very hard to explain, but somehow Peter felt as if he had two homes. The one he shared with his wife back in London, and the other home that he had made with Jenna during their time together on Doctor Who. It wasn't even his flat or her flat, but Jenna's presence that gave him a sense of belonging.  
Peter smiled back at her and placed his hand on her upper arm, inching just a little closer. He wanted to touch her right now, just feel her warmth for a moment. “I loved taking care of you,” he admitted.  
“Excuse me.” A female voice made them jump apart and Peter spun around and spotted a young woman who smiled at them nervously. “Could I take a selfie with you?”

After the encounter with a fan, several selfies and an autograph Peter and Jenna moved on to the Whitewall Galleries, followed by a café and then they finally headed home again to watch their last ever Doctor Who episode together.  
Peter wasn't sure why they had gone through the trouble to make popcorn because as soon as the episode started Jenna leaned her head against his chest and focused on the telly. Peter, however, suddenly found it a little hard to concentrate. He closed his arm tightly around Jenna and he was more than aware of every little spot where their bodies touched. It felt so good to just hold her again, to not think of anything else apart from her. Peter had thought that during the last months a few of these feelings would have vanished, but it seemed as if their bond just grew stronger no matter what. He loved her more than he probably should.  
When the end credits rolled across the scene he suddenly heard Jenna utter a quiet sob and Peter bent down immediately to see if she was alright, but then he noticed that the tears were streaming down her face.  
“Jen, what's wrong?” he asked immediately, but refused to let go of her.  
“Nothing,” she replied with a sniff. “It's just. . . it's over.”  
“No, it's not,” Peter argued and then he raised both of his hands to her face and gently wiped away the tears with his thumb. He hated to see her cry. “Jodie will be a brilliant Doctor.”  
“She's not you though.”  
In an attempt to cheer her up Peter reached for his own head, feeling his hair, and then moved his palms across the chest. “Nope, still a man. Phew, that would have been hard to explain.”  
Just like he had expected Jenna started to chuckle and all of a sudden Peter couldn't help it. It was the way she looked, somewhere between heartbroken and happy, the tears not yet dry and still her dimples were showing like every time she smiled. His heart was racing when cupped her cheeks in his hands once again and bent forward, brushing their lips together in a gentle kiss. Jenna must have been surprised and for a brief moment Peter believed she would push him away in an instant, but the kiss lasted longer than he had expected. He closed his eyes counted the seconds until Jenna parted her lips for him and at that precise moment he realized just what they were doing and pulled away.  
“I'm sorry,” he uttered instantly.  
Jenna looked at him through wide eyes and Peter felt utterly torn. She hadn't pushed him away. In fact, she had done the complete opposite. He swallowed hard when it dawned on him that she actually _wanted_ to kiss him and it felt as if his whole world was collapsing around him. He was a married man. Jenna was so much younger than him. And here they were, wanting each other even though it wasn't right.  
“It's fine,” Jenna replied after a moment and quickly distanced himself from her. It was the right thing to do. They had become too close, physically and emotionally. Yet a part of him wanted it that way.  
“Sorry, I just. . . I just wanted to comfort you,” Peter told her even though he wasn't quite sure why he had kissed her apart from the fact that he had wanted to.  
Jenna granted him a smile, but even through that she looked utterly nervous. “I know, I get it. And it's fine.”  
Peter opened his mouth, trying to find the words to justify himself, but Jenna cut him off before he had a chance.  
“So, wanna watch another Classic Who episode? The night is still young,” she suggested.  
Slowly he nodded in agreement. “Yeah, sure.”

When they sat back down to continue their movie night they kept some space between them on the sofa and Peter knew that it was for the best. Yet he couldn't help but miss the feeling of Jenna in his arms.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your sweet comments :) Now it's time for Peter and Jenna to go back to reality.

“I must say I am quite intrigued by this idea,” the man on the phone said and Peter's heart skipped a beat when he heard these words. He had been working on the fanart book for months and finally he had reached the stage where he felt he had enough good drawings to present them to the BBC. Peter had made the call this morning and Mr Johnson, the man they had redirected the call to, seemed to like the idea.  
“I'm glad to hear that,” Peter replied with an audible sigh of relief. “I mean, just working on this has been a lot of fun lately, but I've spoken to Jenna about it and she thinks that some fans of the show would like to buy it.”  
Mr Johnson chuckled. “I believe there will be a few more than just some,” he said. “Why don't you put together what you've made so far and send them to me? It might take a few weeks, but we'll definitely have a look at them.”  
“Thank you,” Peter said sincerely. “That means a lot to me.”  
“No need to thank me,” Mr Johnson replied. “I must admit that you're my favourite of all the recent Doctors.”  
“I'm sure you say that to all of them.”  
“Not at all. You've brought something very special to the show, Peter, your love for the show and your enthusiasm. I think this book is a great idea to explore that even further and I know for a fact that you've got a lot of fans out there who will buy it in a heartbeat. Of course we're a business and we want to make money, but Doctor Who is one of the few programmes that people really care about and I think the book you're talking about can deliver both money and love for the show.”  
For a moment Peter had no idea what to say. He hadn't actually expected the idea to be regarded so positively.  
“I can't promise you anything until I've spoken to some people, but I will do that as soon as I've got the drawings,” Mr Johnson explained. “Personally, I think this could be great. But since you've mentioned Jenna. . . maybe we could bring her in on this somehow? Make her or Pearl write a preface.”  
“Oh, I'm sure neither of them would mind,” Peter said with a smile. This was going better than he had anticipated. “I'm going to send you the drawings today.”  
“I look forward to them and I'll get in touch as soon as I know anything, alright?”  
“Alright. And again, thank you,” he said before they ended the phone call.

For a brief moment Peter couldn't believe the call had actually happened. He had worked on book mostly for fun and the idea of publishing it had been a possibility, but he had never expected it to go so well.  
Before he placed his phone aside Peter decided to send a text message to Jenna.

_Called the BBC today. They loved the idea of the fanart book. Gonna send them the drawings straight away._

Then Peter made his way downstairs to give his wife the good news. Elaine had the day off today, which meant that Peter couldn't sneak out to work on his house and practice with his friends, and he found her sitting at the kitchen table in front of what looked like a copy of the Daily Mirror.  
“Why are you reading that filth?” Peter wanted to know and he noticed that there was still some leftover coffee in the coffee pot. He swiftly poured himself a cup.  
“A _friend_ called to tell me that my husband has made it into the newspapers again,” Elaine scoffed. “Asked how I was dealing with your _affair_.”  
“Lovely friend,” Peter remarked and glanced at the newspaper over Elaine's shoulder. Apparently he and Jenna had been spotted in York during their visit to the Whitewall Galleries and for a moment he questioned the journalists sanity. The pictures in front of the cinema may have looked odd, but these merely showed them glancing at a couple of paintings. It didn't look anything like a date at all. Then Elaine suddenly placed the newspaper aside before he could finish reading the article.  
“Maybe next time you should just stay inside,” his wife suggested and for a moment Peter grew wary of her intentions. He hadn't told her about his second kiss with Jenna because a part of him knew that she wouldn't let it slide like she had done with the first. But there was no jealousy in the way she spoke, so she obviously wasn't aware that something had happened during his last visit to Jenna.  
“Why?” Peter still felt the need to ask.  
Elaine turned around to look at him. “Well, the yellow press seems convinced that you two are having an affair. Maybe you shouldn't give them any new material for a while.”  
“Yeah,” he sighed as he sank down next to Elaine. The book. He should tell her about that. “Listen, I just got off the phone with the BBC about my fanart book.”  
“Oh?” Elaine cocked an eyebrow at him, but it was quite clear from her expression that she didn't expect any good news to follow.  
Yet Peter tried to remain cheerful and smiled at her. “Mr Johnson loved the idea. He wants me to send in my drawings immediately so they can discuss the book,” Peter announced proudly. Elaine hadn't believed in this project and the BBC had just proved her wrong.  
But to his surprise his wife smiled at him. “That's good news, isn't it?”  
“Yes,” he replied reluctantly before Elaine suddenly leaned across the table and gave him a peck on the cheek.  
“You know I wasn't so fond of the idea, but hey, if they like it, that's great. I know what it means to you,” she told him. “I just don't want you to be disappointed if it doesn't work out. You're great as an actor and you should focus on that before they've forgotten about you.”  
Peter nodded. “Well, let's just see what they'll about it once they've seen the drawings.”  
“Let me know once you've got an answer,” Elaine said and rose from her seat. “I'm gonna run to the supermarket. Do you need anything?”  
“Uhm,” he hesitated, “I can't think of anything.”  
“Alright.” Elaine granted him a smile. “I'll be back in a bit.”

Once Elaine had left Peter walked back upstairs just in time to see his phone light up. He opened the message and couldn't help but smile when he read Jenna's name above the text.

_Oh my God, that's amazing news! I'm so proud of you! I knew you could do it!_

Peter's heart instantly felt a little lighter when he read Jenna's reassuring words and he quickly went on to send a reply.

_Nothing's set in stone yet. They're just going to talk about it._

This time Jenna's reply came immediately.

_Don't be silly. They're going to publish it, I'm sure of it!_

Peter put the phone aside and sat down at his desk to go through the drawings he had accumulated over the past few months, sorting out the ones he didn't think were good enough and placing his best works right on top of the pile. Then one particular drawing fell into his hands that he had almost forgotten about and all of a sudden he felt a stab of guilt. Over the past few weeks he had allowed himself to get caught up in a fantasy that he really, really shouldn't have and that was kissing Jenna. He had doodled and drawn it multiple times just to get the idea out of his head, but it had never really worked, at least not for long. Normally Peter didn't keep them with the rest of his drawings, afraid that Elaine might see them, but this one must have ended up in the pile somehow.  
Peter rose from his seat and placed it neatly inside the book along with the rest of them and closed it quickly. He shouldn't be thinking about Jenna in that way and yet a part of him wondered if maybe she kept thinking about it, too.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your amazing comments!!! Yes, maybe Elaine is a little naive to take Peter's friendship to Jenna so lightly, but in the meantime Jenna has a whole different problem to deal with. . .

It was the last evening before their last day of working on Victoria and everyone already seemed to be in the mood for the big wrap party tomorrow night, determined to start celebrating immediately. Jenna, however, didn't exactly feel like it, mainly because Tom would be there and even though he was a professional in front of the camera, behind it he never so much as glanced at her. By now Jenna had come to realize that it didn't matter what she told him, she wouldn't be able to convince him that she and Peter were not having an affair, but that didn't change that it still angered her immensely. Jenna hadn't been the best girlfriend, far from it, but she had never cheated on Tom.  
“Hey, why are you looking so glum?”  
Jenna spun around and noticed that Rufus was approaching her from across the room. She wasn't quite sure why he was still here because he had finished his last scene yesterday, but maybe he was one of those who stuck around for the big party tomorrow night.  
“It's nothing,” Jenna lied once he had reached her. There was no point in bothering him with her personal issues.  
Yet Rufus smiled at her. “It's Tom, isn't it? You're no longer an item and it's making things a bit complicated.”  
Jenna scoffed. “Trust me, I'm not the one making things complicated here.”  
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Rufus asked kindly while he raised his eyebrows at her and for a moment she felt tempted to say yes. The only people who really knew about it were her closest friends and Peter and she didn't want to bother him with the full extend because she knew that he would end up feeling guilty. But bothering Rufus wasn't exactly the best option either.  
“Aren't you here for the pre-wrap party?” she asked.  
Rufus shrugged. “I'm here for the big wrap party tomorrow. Tonight I feel more like getting a nice dinner somewhere. Wanna come?”  
Jenna considered it for a moment. She was hungry and Rufus was nice and she really felt like getting a few things off her chest.  
“Let me just change into something more practical, okay?” Jenna replied and then granted him a smile. “I don't think I'd fit through the door of an ordinary restaurant in this skirt.”  
“Not to mention that the costume department will be furious if you ruin it,” he chuckled. “I'll wait in front of the studios.”

Jenna hurried to change back into her normal clothes and checked her phone for any messages of Peter, but to her disappointment there were none. She vowed to give him a call the next day because she thought that he was probably going crazy. It had been over two weeks since he had sent his art to the BBC and he had promised to tell her as soon as they called him back, but from the lack of messages Jenna assumed that they probably hadn't done that yet.  
She found Rufus waiting in front of the studios like he had promised and he was already surrounded by a couple of fans who wanted selfies and autographs and Jenna quickly put on a smile. She wasn't really in the mood for that tonight, not when she was hungry and annoyed, but she always tried to give her best when meeting fans.  
However, when she reached the small crowd, a man instantly started to approach her and Jenna got the impression that he wasn't a fan.  
“Would you mind answering a couple of questions for me?” the man asked in a friendly manner. “I'm from the Daily Mirror.”  
She opened her mouth to reply, but didn't immediately find the right words to turn him down. The last thing she wanted right now was to talk to the press.  
Luckily for her Rufus stepped in immediately.  
“Please, we've all had a stressful day at work,” he told the reporter. “Maybe you should come back another time.”  
“It really won't take long,” the man insisted and turned back towards Jenna. “I just wanted to ask whether you'd be interested in doing a confessional piece about your relationship with Peter Capaldi.”  
For a moment Jenna didn't even know what to respond to that, so Rufus was once again quicker.  
“I really think you should leave her alone now.”  
“No, it's alright,” Jenna eventually said and looked straight at the reporter. “No, I don't want to give an interview because there is no relationship you could interview me about. Peter and I are friends, have been since the first day on Doctor Who.”  
“The latest photos of you two tell a different story.”  
Jenna couldn't help but groan. “We went to the cinema together,” she spat. “Since when is that a crime?”  
Suddenly she felt Rufus' arm around her back, trying to lead her away from the reporter, but there was still so much that she would have loved to throw at him. Whatever feelings she had for Peter was nothing the press needed to worry about because there would never be a relationship, no matter how hard they looked.  
“Come on,” Rufus said kindly. “This isn't worth your time.”  
“Yeah,” Jenna breathed in reply. “Let's go. I'm done here.”

* * *

“So,” Rufus said once their drinks had arrived and he had taken a large sip, “wanna tell me what's going on with you and Tom? Or Peter, apparently?”  
Jenna glowered at him from across the table. “Do you actually believe a Daily Mirror reporter when he says that I'm having an affair with one of my best friends?”  
“No,” he replied immediately, but still Rufus kept his gaze firmly on Jenna. “But I believe Tom is mad at you about _something_.”  
With a sigh Jenna reached for her glass and drank. She needed a moment to make up her mind about what she was going to tell him and she only set her drink back down when she thought she had an answer. “Tom believes it,” she said after a while. “But then again, he has always been a little insecure when it comes to Peter, I think.”  
Rufus frowned at her. “Why does he believe that crap? It's the Daily Mirror.”  
Jenna hesitated. “It's not really about the article,” she replied and inhaled deeply. Jenna could tell Rufus. He wouldn't judge her or get the wrong idea. “When Peter was done with Doctor Who, he had some issues with his wife and he needed to get out of the house for a bit, which was why I offered him my guest bedroom for a while, well, for about a month.”  
“And that's why Tom thought you were having an affair?” he asked in disbelief.  
“Well, uhm,” Jenna bit down on her lip. “Peter may have opened the door in his underwear that day Tom decided to stop by. And and I hadn't told him before.”  
“Oh,” Rufus uttered. It took him a couple of seconds, but eventually he burst into laughter.  
“It's not funny,” Jenna argued. “Tom was really mad and he still is. He doesn't even listen to me. He only hears what he wants to hear, which happens to be what the newspapers are writing.”  
“Well, if you're saying that Tom has always been jealous of Peter, it's not really surprising. You've obviously wounded his pride, so of course he's acting like an idiot.”  
Jenna gawked at him. “Are you justifying his behaviour?”  
“No, he's an idiot,” Rufus replied. “I was like that at his age as well. He'll grow out of it eventually.”  
She snorted. “And he's surprised I get on well with older men.”  
Still Rufus eyed her suspiciously. “Is that all there is to it?”  
Jenna blew the air out between her lips. “It's all that matters.”  
With a knowing smile Rufus leaned back in his seat and she could read from his expression that he knew exactly what was going on. Without her having to say it, he knew that she had feelings for Peter and that nothing would ever happen and there was nothing he could do about it, so instead of bothering her further Rufus remained quiet and called for the waiter to order their meal. Jenna vowed to herself that she would try to ban the thought of Peter and Tom from her mind at least for the rest of the evening.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your lovely comments :)

When the song ended Peter thought that for the first time since they had started making music together his ears hadn't bled. They still sounded terrible, but finally they were starting to get the hang of it.  
“That was amazing,” Dave blurted out in his enthusiasm.  
“Well,” John wrinkled his nose, “I wouldn't call it amazing. But it sounded more like music than what we've done so far.”  
“It was a good start,” Peter concluded and adjusted his guitar strap around his shoulder. Had it been easier to carry in his youth or was that just his imagination? “Can we agree on that?”  
“Absolutely,” Dave replied and John nodded along with him.  
“Alright, shall we play another one? See if the streak lasts?”  
Yet before either of his friends could agree Peter's phone started to ring on the other end of the garage and he sighed, knowing that it was probably Elaine who was going to tell him that she had arrived safely in Scotland. At least he would have a whole week to work on his house and practice with his band without having to come up with excuses as to why he was home so late. His wife had caught him once or twice, but Peter didn't think that she suspected anything. At least she hadn't given off that impression.  
He set his guitar down on its stand and crossed the room to where his phone was, only to see that it wasn't Elaine who was calling him. It was the BBC. For a moment he felt as if his heart had stopped.  
“Guys, I have to take this outside,” he announced before he grabbed the phone and closed the door from the outside.  
It was chilly and Peter took a lungful of the cold air before he finally answered the call.

“Yes? This is Peter Capaldi speaking,” he said and noticed that he sounded a little out of breath. Somehow he needed to get his nervousness under control.  
“Hello Peter,” Mr Johnson greeted him in a friendly manner. “I know it's been forever since we spoke on the phone and believe me, I've tried to get them to look at your art a lot earlier, but you how they are, don't you?”  
“Yes,” Peter replied. He just wanted Mr Johnson to tell him whether they would do it or not. He wanted to get it over with if this was going to end in disappointment.  
“Anyway, we sat together this week and we decided that we would like to invite you to talk over dinner. How does Saturday sound to you?”  
“Dinner?” he blurted out. “Does that mean you're gonna publish the book?”  
Mr Johnson chuckled. “It means we want to meet with you to talk about publishing the book,” he replied. “I took the liberty of making a reservation at the Grove Club for 7 pm. Does that suit you?”  
“Uhm, yes,” Peter spluttered. What did that mean? Talk about publishing his book? Right now he couldn't even tell whether it was a good or a bad sign. “Yes, of course.”  
“Great,” he said and the enthusiasm was audible in his voice. “See you on Saturday.”  
“See you,” he attempted to say, but Mr Johnson had already hung up.

Peter felt almost numb when he stepped back into the garage, his thoughts only circling around the one thing ahead of him: the dinner on Saturday at the Grove Club. When his friends asked him about it, Peter mumbled an explanation about a sort of job interview and asked them to postpone the rest of the jam session because he needed to prepare himself. In just three days he would know whether the book was a possibility or not. Three long days.  
Once his friends had left, Peter instantly walked inside the house and started to pace the living room with his phone in his hand. There was only one person he could talk to right now, only one person who would understand.  
“They've invited me to talk about the book,” Peter uttered nervously.  
“Hey,” Jenna greeted him in a happy manner. “That is great news. It's as good as a done deal then, right?”  
“No, they said they just wanted to talk about it. He wouldn't say whether it means they're gonna do it,” he replied. Peter couldn't get his hopes up too much now in case they decided not to do it.  
“Nonsense,” she replied instantly. “The fact that they wanna meet with you to talk about it means that they _want_ to do it. It's just about the details.”  
“Can't you come with me and hold my hand?” Peter asked with a heavy sigh while he sank down on the sofa. Having her there would make everything so much easier.  
In response Jenna chuckled softly. “You're a grown man, Peter. I'm very certain you can manage that on your own without handholding.”  
Peter sank back against the cushions and inhaled deeply for a moment. He was nervous, properly nervous, maybe as nervous as he had been during his audition for Doctor Who. There was also the fact that Elaine was gone for the next week and the fact that she had never really supported the idea in the first place. He wanted Jenna to be there, share that moment with him.  
“Hey,” he said after a while, “I've wanted to show you the house for weeks and you're back in London now, right?”  
“Yes?” For some reason her reply sounded like a question.  
“How about you visit me here on Saturday? I'll show you around, we'll hang out for a bit. I just-” he broke off, not sure how to say it without sounding like an idiot.  
“What is it, Peter?” Jenna asked kindly.  
“I just want someone to be here after the meeting,” he confessed. “I want _you_ to be here.”  
She hesitated for a long moment and Peter already began to prepare himself for a rejection. Jenna had her own life, her own worries. He couldn't expect her to hold his hand over such a silly matter.  
“Alright,” she replied to his surprise.  
“Really?”  
“Yes,” Jenna laughed. “I want to see your house. If it's as idyllic as you say, I'd love to see it. And I'll stay until you've returned from your meeting.”  
“You know, I've got a pretty big sofa here. You can have the bedroom if you'd like to stay. It's even prettier here in the morning.”  
“Sounds great,” she replied sincerely. “I just need your address.”  
“I'll text it to you,” Peter said. “I have to look it up. Haven't exactly memorized it yet.”

All of a sudden his heart felt a lot lighter. The prospect of spending the weekend with Jenna and having her around when he returned from his meeting with the BBC made everything so much easier and so much better. If they decided to publish his book, Peter would have the opportunity to share the good news with her immediately. If they didn't publish it, well, he was sure that Jenna would find the right words to cheer him up. In any case, he could look forward to a lovely weekend with his best friend.  
“Thank you,” Peter said sincerely. “It means a lot to me.”  
“I know,” Jenna breathed in reply. “Still, I'm certain the meeting will go well.”  
He smiled at the phone in response and hearing Jenna say these words gave him a little more hope as well.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You wanted Peter and Jenna cuteness? You'll have Peter and Jenna cuteness :D
> 
> Thank you for your kind comments :)

Jenna frowned when she drove along the small, muddy path and even though her sat-nav kept reassuring her that she had almost reached her destination, she wasn't quite as convinced as the machine was. She was in the middle of the woods with nothing else around except trees and Jenna thought that unless Peter had bought a treehouse, she wouldn't find his little secret out here.  
Then, just as she was told that she had reached her destination, Jenna spotted the little house hidden between the trees and for a moment she wasn't sure whether to smile or laugh. It looked a little run down from the outside, but Peter had reassured her that he had already started to work on the interior. And of course he was already waiting by the door, waving at her.  
“If you feel the urgent need to spend money again, I've always wanted a yacht,” Jenna joked while she flung her arms around him in an embrace.  
Peter hugged her so tightly that for a brief moment he lifted her feet off the ground. Jenna uttered a squealing sound.  
“Ive missed you,” Peter said and beamed at her once he had realized her from the hug, but still his hands were wrapped tightly around her arms.  
Jenna smiled at him return. She had missed him, too, probably more than she should have, but that didn't matter now. The only thing that mattered was that they would get to spend the weekend together.  
“Come on in,” he said excitedly. “I wanna show you the house.”  
Jenna followed him inside and she already had to admit that it wasn't what she had expected at all. She had seen photos, but they hadn't done the house justice at all. It was small and the hall narrow, but she could already feel the cosy vibe Peter had described in their phone calls.  
“This is the spare room. I'm not quite sure what to do with that yet,” he said and pointed inside a room that was currently filled with tools and paint buckets and carpet leftovers.  
Jenna shrugged. “Bit small for a guest bedroom.”  
They moved on to the bathroom which obviously wasn't quite done yet, but Jenna's focus remained on the big tub that she vowed to use as soon as Peter had left for the meeting.  
“And this is the living room and kitchen,” Peter announced proudly and when Jenna stepped through the door she could finally see why he had bought the house. It was the perfect retreat for a quiet weekend and Peter had done a great job at renovating it so far. He really hadn't lied when he had told her about the huge sofa and Peter had already renovated this bit in earthy, warm colours, but her eyes instantly wandered to the large window.  
“You like it, don't you?” Peter asked her with an impish smile.  
“Of course I do,” she replied sincerely.  
“The kitchen is through there,” he said and pointed towards another part of the room that was technically still connected to the lounge, but separated by a wooden archway. “It was still in good shape, so all I've done there was to repaint the walls.”  
Suddenly Jenna felt Peter's arm around her waist. “Come on,” he said, “I'll show you the bedroom.  
He led her across the lounge into another, smaller room and Jenna instantly felt a little bad for taking up the bed when all that was left for Peter was the sofa, however comfortable it looked. The bed was huge and she had to resist the urge to try it out immediately because of how soft it looked.  
“Are you sure-”  
“Yes,” Peter interrupted her. “I'll take the sofa. I changed the sheets. I don't want that to be for nothing.”  
A frown spread on Jenna's face when she turned to look at him and there were so many questions on her mind that she wasn't quite sure where to start. “Have you told Elaine about this?”

Peter's mood changed in an instant and he took a step back and sat down on the bed. “I can't,” he replied heavily.  
“What do you mean you can't?”  
He shrugged and when he looked at her Jenna thought he seemed a little lost, like he didn't quite understand it himself. “I need this,” Peter sighed. “I just need something that is entirely mine, that Elaine's can't touch. It doesn't even matter whether she approves or not, I just want it for myself.”  
Slowly Jenna started to approach the bed and sank down next to him. She reached out and placed her arm around his shoulder.  
“Are you and Elaine okay?”  
Peter sighed. “I'm not entirely sure,” he replied. “We've always had a few issues, but they didn't matter much while I was in Cardiff. I feel like my time there has only brought them to light because I've never been gone for that amount of time before and maybe-”  
“Maybe?”  
“Ah, I don't know,” Peter replied and suddenly turned his head and smiled at her. “Do you wanna see the garden and the lake?”

“It's quite. . . weedy,” Jenna wrinkled her nose once they stepped outside through the door in the kitchen.  
“Yeah, there isn't really a point in cleaning it up now. I'm saving that for the spring,” Peter explained. “But I think it could be quite nice. I wanna make a little spot to sit outside with a few chairs, maybe a Hollywood swing.”  
“I like those,” she remarked. For a moment Jenna imagined coming here more often, spending her weekends here with Peter. Right now the forest around them looked a little bleak, but once the leaves were back on the trees she thought it would be beautiful.  
“You'll let me know if you need a hand, right?” she said. “I mean, apart from a few publicity events I'm free for now.”  
“Careful,” Peter chuckled. “I might take you up on that offer. And you should definitely meet Dave and John.”  
“And listen to you practice,” she suggested.  
“Only if you wanna go deaf,” he replied and then lifted his arm to check his watch. Jenna heard him exhale sharply. “I should get ready for the meeting.”  
“Nervous?”  
He scoffed. “Like you wouldn't believe.”

Jenna unpacked the book that she had brought and curled up on the sofa that was even more comfortable than it looked while Peter retreated to the bathroom to have a shower. Even though she hadn't even been here two hours Jenna was already beginning to dread the moment she would have to leave. Why couldn't she just stay here with Peter for a week, or better two? Just the two of them, hanging out.  
“What do you think?”  
Jenna looked up when she heard Peter's voice and she couldn't quite help the smile that spread across her face when she saw him. He was dressed in a crisp white shirt under a suit she hadn't seen before, a dark one with a thin, large check pattern and it suited his handsome figure perfectly.  
“Nice,” she remarked. “I like the suit.”  
Peter frowned a little. “I was actually asking which tie.”  
The heat instantly rose to her cheeks when she noticed that up until he had mentioned them, she had completely missed the two ties he was holding up.  
“Leave out the tie,” she told him while she rose from her seat and approached him.  
Peter once again tried to ask which one was more suitable by holding them up against his chest, but Jenna only laughed and shook her head when she had reached him. She lifted her arms and brushed over his shoulders to get rid of any imaginary dust before she smiled at him.  
“No tie,” she confirmed.  
Peter smiled back at her and Jenna found that her heart was suddenly beating a lot faster. It was the proximity, his handsome attire and the scent of his cologne that he had only applied a few minutes ago. She had missed that smell so much and by now it had completely vanished from her house. And why was she suddenly thinking about kissing him? She really shouldn't think about that, especially now.  
Jenna gasped when his hand landed on her hip and he pulled her a little closer, but she didn't find the strength to turn away. What was Peter doing? Why was he looking at her like that? Why was her heart beating so goddamn fast?

The door bell interrupted them when Peter had just started to bend down and Jenna instantly stepped back.  
“That'll be your taxi,” she said, completely out of breath.  
“Yes,” he sighed, but quickly put on a smile. “Wish me luck?”  
Jenna went up on tiptoes and swiftly pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Good luck.”


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your kind and slightly impatient comments :D You were waiting for a kiss? Awww. . . we'll let's see if you'll get it this time.

Jenna must have dozed off on the sofa over her book because some time around midnight she was suddenly startled by a loud noise and instantly jerked awake. Her heart was pounding in her chest and for a moment she didn't even know where she was. Then it all started to come back to her. Peter. The house. The dinner. By the time she had concluded that everything was alright, she was wide awake.  
“Peter?!” Jenna called out into the empty house. Someone or something must have caused that noise.  
She heard another rumbling noise that sounded suspiciously like someone tripping over several pairs of shoes and then Peter's voice followed. “Here.”  
Jenna rose from the sofa the same time Peter appeared in the door frame, grinning broadly at her and swaying just a little.  
“Sorry,” he whispered. “Did I wake you?”  
“It's fine,” she replied and frowned a little. He was smiling, so that was a good sign at least. “Well? How did it go?”  
Even though Jenna hadn't thought it was possible, the grin on his face only widened a little more.  
“Oh my God, they're gonna do it?” she asked excitedly and when Peter nodded in response she didn't wait to dart forward and close her arms around him in a tight embrace. Peter hugged her in return and Jenna pressed herself against his warm body. “I'm so happy for you. And proud. Happy and proud!”  
When Jenna released him from the embrace she suddenly found that he struggled to keep his balance, but despite that he was grinning at her.  
“Have you been drinking?” she asked.  
Peter swallowed. “Uhm, celebrating. There was champagne,” he explained, slurring his speech just a bit. “Lots of it.”  
Jenna giggled. “Well, you certainly have reason to celebrate,” she smiled at him. “Your art book is a good reason to get drunk on champagne.”  
“Tipsy,” Peter argued.  
Jenna frowned playfully and then jabbed him softly in the chest, almost causing him to lose his balance again. “Liar,” she giggled.  
He closed his arms back around her waist, but this time it wasn't meant as a hug. He simply held her, pulling her just a little bit closer until their bodies touched again. It was almost like during that brief moment before he had left and when Jenna looked up, she found an almost dreamy expression on his face. There was something about it, about the entire situation that made her knees a little weak.  
“They're gonna publish your book,” Jenna forced herself to smile at him even though she felt completely out of breath. She needed to distract him from whatever he was doing right now because Peter clearly didn't think straight.  
“I owe that to you,” he replied and all of a sudden he didn't even sound drunk anymore.  
Jenna took a deep breath, trying to gather the strength to pull away. If he kept looking at her like that, she didn't know what was going to happen.

She didn't even have the strength to resist when Peter bent down all of a sudden and crushed their lips together. It wasn't like the first or the second time. This time there was a fierceness to his kiss that made her yield to it in an instant and all the vows she had made about not letting it happen again were suddenly forgotten. Jenna wanted to kiss him, she wanted his lips on her own, his body against hers and she opened her mouth to let him in. It was as if Peter had heard her unspoken plea and and pulled her against his body while his tongue playfully scraped across her own and Jenna soon found herself completely out of breath. It was the sort of kiss that made her skin ripple in goosebumps and her stomach tingle with the desire to take it even further. She was in love with Peter. And she wanted him.  
Eventually they broke apart, both gasping for air the moments their lips parted, and yet Peter still held her close and when she opened her eyes again she was grinning at her.  
“We really have to stop this drunk snogging, you know?” she said, trying to reason with him. “You can't keep kissing me every time you've had too much to drink.”  
“I wanna kiss you all the time,” Peter replied and the sincerity in his voice startled her a little. “I think about you all the time.”  
Jenna swallowed hard. “You shouldn't. I shouldn't.”  
Finally she found the strength to pull out of his embrace, but to her surprise Peter instantly reached for her hand.  
“I'm sorry,” he said quietly.  
When she looked at him Jenna couldn't help but notice that by now the joy and enthusiasm had left him and instead he looked once again thoughtful, beaten even. And it was her fault. Quickly she went up on tiptoes and pressed a long but chaste kiss on his lips. “Don't apologize,” she told him and tugged at his arm. “Let's go to sleep, okay?”

Maybe it wasn't the wisest decision she had ever made, but right now Jenna didn't want it any other way as she pulled Peter towards the bedroom. There was no way she would let him sleep on the sofa tonight and she told herself that it was because she was afraid that in his state he would roll off the sofa in his sleep, but really she just wanted to sleep next to him, to wake up in his embrace tomorrow morning.  
Peter didn't protest and instead sat down on the bed immediately while Jenna attempted to at least take off his jacket before they went to sleep. Then suddenly he began to chuckle.  
“What's so funny?” Jenna wanted to know.  
Peter turned his head and to her surprise the smile was back on his face. “You're undressing me.”  
Jenna giggled. “Looks like it,” she replied. And she wasn't just helping him undress. She was enjoying it, too.  
When she had placed the jacket aside, Peter frowned at her. “What about the trousers?” he prompted.  
She snorted and gave him a little push that made him fall back onto the mattress. “Tomorrow, when your head is clear, I will remind you that you've asked me to take off your trousers and you're going to feel terribly embarrassed.”  
Jenna climbed into bed and crawled under the duvet and it didn't take Peter very long to take off his trousers and join her in bed. She thought that he must be tired and she got her proof for that when Peter suddenly closed his arm around her and pulled her against his chest. It felt so good, it was so tempting to just give in, to just turn around and kiss him again. If it had been anyone else, Jenna might have even done it. But this was Peter, her best friend, and she didn't want him to feel the guilt that was sure to follow.  
“They're gonna publish your book,” Jenna reminded him instead, smiling to herself.  
“Yes,” he replied.  
“Are you happy?”  
“Right now?” Peter asked. “Very. Very happy.”  
He moved to place a soft kiss on her shoulder and then rested his head back on the pillow. By his breathing Jenna could tell that he had fallen asleep in a matter of minutes, but she was awake for a while longer, thinking about what would happen if she just gave in.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your lovely, lovely comments :) Peter and Jenna tenderness and kissing - who could resist? Let's see what they get up to in the morning ;)

Peter was too afraid to move even though he had woken up a while ago, but he didn't want to risk waking Jenna. He shouldn't feel for her the way he did, but if the last few months had proven anything, then that these feelings wouldn't just disappear. Once Jenna woke up she would distance herself from him and maybe even leave and Peter didn't want that to happen. He just wanted to keep holding her in his arms for as long as possible.  
The dripping sound on the roof became a little louder and when Peter raised his head a little he noticed that the rain outside was beginning to turn into a downpour and for a moment he felt like cursing the weather. Unfortunately the rain and his movement had woken Jenna up and she started to stir in his arms. As if by instinct he pulled her a little closer.  
“Morning,” she mumbled sleepily, followed by a content sigh.  
Peter bit down on his lip and when he thought about it his heart was beginning to race, but he wanted to do it so much. He wanted Jenna. Carefully, slowly he lowered his lips to her neck and placed a soft kiss on her skin while his heart was hammering inside his chest and he was waiting for Jenna to push him away. Yet she didn't. She did nothing to stop him while he became a little braver and caressed her neck with his lips, nibbled at her skin and his arms pulled her so close against his own body that his hardness rested against her bum.  
“Peter,” Jenna uttered and he couldn't help but notice that her breathing was becoming a little more rapid. He had realized in York that she didn't mind kissing him, but could it really be that she wanted more? Could it be that he was really turning her on? Was there even a small chance?  
Suddenly Jenna turned around in his arms and Peter could tell that she would try to reason with him to stop, but that was the last thing he actually wanted to do, so as soon as she had turned around he crashed their lips together, kissing her as fiercely as he had done last night. She parted her lips for him in an instant, letting him in while she hooked her arms around him and pulled him on top of her. His cock was twitching in his pants when he realized just how close they were and the idea of doing this with Jenna had his mind racing. Peter had tried not to think about it, he hadn't thought that Jenna would even consider it, but right now while she was lying underneath him and moaning into his mouth, it suddenly became a real possibility. Until Jenna softly pushed him off her.

Peter fell back into the pillows, gasping for air, and next to him he could hear Jenna do the same. Why couldn't it just be easy?  
“I should probably leave,” she said quietly after a while.  
Peter turned his head and chuckled. “You can't.”  
She looked confused for a moment, but then her features lit up with a smile. “Oh? And why is that?”  
“It's raining like mad,” Peter explained and nodded towards the window. “Your car will get stuck in the mud. Trust me, I've been there.”  
Jenna eyed suspiciously him for a long moment, her eyes turning smaller by the second. “You've planned this, haven't you?”  
“Absolutely not!” he argued instantly, but it was too late to avoid the pillow Jenna threw at him. “Hey!”  
He grabbed the pillow and threw it right back at her, but Jenna was quick enough to duck and to his surprise she straddled his lap, pushing him back down onto the mattress.  
“You can't win a pillow fight against the champion,” she giggled, smiling broadly at him. Somehow Peter got the feeling that she didn't mind being stuck here with him at all.  
There they were again, so close, bodies touching and every cell in his body wanted her. If only she would bend down and kiss him again.  
Instead Jenna remained smiling at him. “Breakfast?” she asked.  
For once Peter wasn't hungry at all. He just wanted to stay in bed with her all day long, cuddling, kissing, doing more if she allowed it. Maybe Peter had misunderstood her eagerness because by now there was no way she could have missed his arousal pressing against her thigh. Maybe she really didn't want him in that way.  
“Do you mind if I take a shower first?” Peter asked. “I'm still in yesterday's shirt.”  
“I could make breakfast while you shower?” Jenna suggested, grinning at him.

And yet Peter didn't quite want to give up without a fight. Before Jenna could react he sat up and pulled her against his chest. Her lips tasted so sweet when he kissed her and again she opened her mouth to him. Peter couldn't remember the last time he had kissed with such a passion, he couldn't remember the last time he had felt butterflies in his stomach. He had loved Jenna from the day they had met, but only their first kiss had put this idea in his head and now it just wouldn't leave. It just seemed to get worse over time and he only broke the kiss when the need for air grew too strong to ignore.  
“Breakfast,” Jenna panted. “I should get started on that.”  
Without a warning she jumped up and Peter didn't even have a chance to hold her back while she darted out of the bedroom.

With a sigh Peter rose from his bed and trudged off in the direction of the bathroom, glancing at Jenna as he passed the entrance to the kitchen, but she seemed busy for the moment, so he decided to leave her be for now. He didn't understand it and the entire morning had left a turmoil inside his head that even the hot shower water couldn't quite wash away. Did she want him? Did she not? Peter honestly couldn't say, but he knew one thing for sure: He wouldn't forget about Jenna or about the kisses they had shared. No matter how hard he tried not to think about it, the memories just seemed to come back with full force. When had everything become so damn complicated?

After a long shower and putting on fresh clothes Peter stepped back into the kitchen and found Jenna at the breakfast table, staring deeply into her coffee mug as if some sort of wisdom could be found in there.  
“Careful,” Peter joked as he pulled up a chair, “you might drown in that mug.”  
Jenna looked up and smiled at him. “If you're trying to make a joke about my height, it's not funny.”  
He shrugged. “You should have kept the Jenna box.”  
“Did you keep anything?” Jenna asked him out of the blue and Peter was ready to say no until his gaze fell on his own hand and he realized that after more than six months he still hadn't taken the Doctor's ring off his finger.  
Peter raised his hand and waved at Jenna, laughing as he did. “I keep forgetting to take it off. And I have to admit I quite like it.”  
Jenna smiled at him in response, but when she spoke again she had already dropped the subject. “So, any plans for today? Seeing as I'm stuck here with you,” she remarked and sipped her coffee.  
He looked at her for a long moment, but eventually shrugged. “We'll just do whatever you want,” Peter replied and reached for his coffee. He knew what he wanted to do, but was that what Jenna wanted?


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the sweet comments. You've been waiting for kisses, right? XD

Jenna found it incredibly hard to focus on the episode Peter had chosen while he was sitting next to her and she realized that this weekend was really not going according to plan. She had come here to support him with his art book, not tempt him to betray his wife. And that was exactly what she was doing and she knew it. If it was up to what Jenna wanted or what Peter wanted, they would never have left the bedroom this morning, but it wasn't just about them, it was about Elaine as well. Yet Peter didn't seem to think about her at all. Maybe it was because they were having issues, maybe it was because of all the changes he was going through in his life that he felt the need to experiment. Jenna couldn't say, but it was becoming harder to hold on to reason when he was being the sweetest man on earth.  
Suddenly Peter's hand moved from the backrest to her shoulder and pulled her a little closer to his chest. For a moment Jenna considered fighting it, but it just felt so nice that it was almost impossible to resist.  
She uttered a sigh and rested her head against his shoulder. Why had they started this? What on earth had happened that damn night half a year ago and why couldn't they put a stop to it?  
“I didn't lie, Jen,” Peter said quietly while his fingers were playing with her hair.  
Jenna raised her head. “What do you mean?”  
He didn't look at her. Instead he stared ahead, but Jenna got the impression that he didn't actually see what was on the telly. No, he was lost in thought.  
“When I said I think about you all the time. I didn't lie,” he told her. Peter paused for a long moment and Jenna thought about something clever that she could say to him, but came up with nothing. “Whenever I thought about kissing you I made a drawing. Of you. And me.”  
Finally he looked at her and for a moment even Jenna was shocked by that look in his eyes. She had always loved the way he looked at her, so lovingly, so full of adoration, but now there was something else, a kind of longing that she felt, too.  
“We shouldn't,” she replied weakly.  
In a swift movement Peter turned around and cupped her face in his hands so gently as if he thought she might break. “How do I stop it?” he asked and there was a hint of despair in his voice.  
She scoffed softly. “I'm really the wrong person to ask.”  
When Peter pulled her closer for a kiss, Jenna had run out of ways to protest. She was weak and right now she wanted to be. It was his life, his marriage and if Peter was dead set on doing something they both wanted despite how wrong it was, she could no longer resist. He was so tender, so gentle with her when she parted her lips for him that for a moment she even felt a little impatient. Jenna pushed him back against the backrest and straddled his lap before she kissed him again and Peter hooked his arms around her back, pulling her up to rest against his chest.

There it was again, that wonderful scent of his cologne that she still missed so much whenever she came home and found that it had faded, and it was clouding her senses already. Right now Jenna found it very hard to deny that she loved every bit of him, from his scent, the way he kissed her to the way she felt his heart beat under her palms.  
But it wasn't enough, not for long, and Jenna found herself craving a little more of him while her heartbeat accelerated and she slipped her hands beneath his shirt. Peter drew in a sharp breath as her nails scraped across his skin that was rippled in goosebumps and soon he smiled against her lips.  
Panting, Jenna broke away and smiled back. Peter watched her for a moment, mesmerized, his hand wandering back to her face and caressing her cheek, and suddenly she was possessed by a wicked idea. If she did this, Jenna knew how it would end, but right now she didn't even care as she lifted her hands to her blouse and slowly started to unbutton it. She just wanted to be touched by him.  
At first all Peter did was look while she peeled out of her blouse and when Jenna had discarded it on the floor, she nodded towards Peter's shirt.  
“Take if off,” she told him with a smile.  
He scoffed. “Are you sure you want to see that?”  
Jenna laughed and shook her head and, seeing as he was too shy, she reached for the hem of his shirt and swiftly pulled it over his head before he even had a chance to protest. She didn't even give him a moment to get shy about his looks before she bent down and started to cover his chest in kisses while her hands trailed over his abdomen.  
“Jen,” he hummed softly and the sound of it only stoked her excitement. She had thought about Peter in that way, but she had never thought it would actually happen one day. Whether it was wrong or not, Jenna decided to just focus on him for now. If they were going to do it, she would make it memorable for him.  
Her hands found his belt and quickly set out to open it and the buttons of his jeans while she kissed her way down. Peter was only too eager to help get rid of all the unnecessary clothing as she pushed his trousers and pants down to his knees and Jenna only stopped her trail of kisses when she had reached the base of his shaft. He was half hard already and the sight of him aroused her in return and she didn't hesitate another moment to close her lips around his tip. Peter uttered a muffled sound when she sucked him into her mouth and his hands wandered to her head, not guiding her, just resting.  
He lifted his hips up just a little, carefully thrusting into her when she ran her tongue along his shaft and Jenna thought that he was trying his best to hold back, but his rapid breathing betrayed just how eager he was. The thought of Peter enjoying himself, the feeling of him growing harder in her mouth suddenly made her itch in excitement. She wanted to feel him so much right now that she didn't even notice how roughly she was sucking him until Peter was unable to hold back a moan. The sound of it shot right to her core.  
“Jenna,” he panted, carefully lifting her up to look him. “Easy there.”  
She grinned at him in response. “Or what?”

In a sudden movement Peter flipped them both over and Jenna landed on her back before Peter climbed on top of her, impatiently shoving down her trousers while his lips set out to repay her, covering her stomach, her chest in so many kisses that she soon lost count. When he had reached her breasts and twirled his tongue around her nipple, Jenna sucked in her breath, thinking about what other things he might be able to do with his tongue. Then she could feel his hand making its way up between her thighs and she spread her legs as if by instinct, waiting for Peter to tend to that itch that had been bugging her for what felt like an eternity.  
He teased her at first, ghosting over her burning skin before he finally slipped a finger between her wet folds and Jenna instantly arched her back to meet him. She wanted so much more than just that, she wanted all of him and she wanted him now, but all Peter did was to tease her, to work her up until that itch was beginning to turn into a burning ache to feel him inside of her. Jenna gasped audibly when he finally dug deep inside of her.  
“I want you,” she hissed and reached between them until she closed her hand around his erection. Jenna gave him a soft squeeze.  
Peter came to a halt and Jenna sighed when he finally climbed on top of her and yet, instead of moving on, he hesitated.  
“Are you sure?”  
Jenna nodded. “I am if you are,” she breathed in reply.  
All of a sudden Peter crushed their lips together once more and Jenna yielded to his kiss immediately, but they broke apart too soon, both of them gasping for air.  
Then, finally, he moved on top of her and Jenna closed her eyes when she felt him reach between them to position himself at her entrance.  
She couldn't help but whimper when they finally became one and he carefully slid inside of her, filling her up so completely that she needed a moment to adjust to his size, to adjust to how he felt in her before he started to move. Jenna hooked her leg around him to give him better access and closed her arms around his back when he slowly rocked inside of her.  
“You okay?” Peter asked and from his strained voice Jenna could tell just how much he held back, how much he was enjoying himself.  
“Mh-mh,” she uttered, unable to find the words to respond while her breath was becoming more ragged now, but that didn't stop Peter from bending down and kissing her once again.  
For a brief moment Jenna thought that maybe they were soulmates, that maybe that was the only explanation for why with him it felt the way it did, why he seemed to anticipate every one of her movements, why they were so in synch as if they had done this a hundred times before.  
Peter was slowly beginning to pick up pace and he had given up his vain attempts to muffle the sounds of pleasure that he was uttering more frequently now as they both worked they way towards their climax and then suddenly Peter sat back up and pulled Jenna with him. She was surprised at first, but quickly went with it and lowered herself back down on his cock while she pushed him against the backrest. Lips locked, arms around each other, chests touching, they soon found their way back to their rhythm and Jenna found herself moaning into his mouth when he thrust up a little harder. He was so close, she could tell by his desperate sounds, by his rapid breathing and she decided to go along, pushing down on him more roughly until he finally hit her sweet spot.  
Jenna broke the kiss in an instant, gasping for air. “Peter,” she moaned feverishly, “keep that up.”  
There was not enough air left to kiss him again as he plunged back inside of her, eager to push her over the edge with him and Jenna let her head fall back when she felt her orgasm approaching and at last one thrust finally sent her over the edge and Jenna cried out that moment her climax came over her and her walls pulsed and tightened around him in that tiny moment of sheer ecstasy and bliss.

When she was starting to come down Jenna noticed that Peter's movements had stopped and that he was panting heavily after he had spent himself inside of her. It took a moment, but when they finally looked at each other they both burst into laugher at the same time.  
“That was amazing” Jenna uttered, giggling, while she sat down on the sofa next to him.  
Peter chuckled. “You sound surprised.”  
She shrugged. “Maybe a bit.”  
In response Peter frowned at her, a slightly hurt expression on his flushed face.  
“Or should I say,” she began, grinning at him, “not bad for a grandfather?”  
He groaned, but soon bent down and silenced her with a kiss and somehow Jenna knew that they would spend the rest of the day in bed because she had developed a taste and she wasn't gonna let him get away with just this once. If she could only have him for this weekend, then they should better make the best of it.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the lovely comments :) Now, since you're all happy. . .

The rain had stopped and once again Peter felt like cursing the weather even though this time it was for a different reason. It was Monday morning and somehow he felt as if Jenna was going to leave today and there was no muddy road he could use as an excuse to keep her here. If there had been some way to control the weather, Peter would have wished for the rain to never stop so they would have to stay here forever. But they had to leave, _he_ had to leave because Elaine would return tomorrow and somehow Peter dreaded the moment. He had lied about the house, about the band, he had trusted Jenna more than he had trusted his wife and now he had cheated. This time Peter had gone too far. Elaine would never forgive that.  
But then why didn't he feel guilt-ridden? Why didn't it tear him apart? Why was the only thing he could think of right next to him in bed, still asleep?  
Peter turned around and closed his arm around Jenna, pulling her up to his own body and leaving a few kisses on her bare skin. She murmured in her sleep and Peter instinctively tightened his grip around her. He just didn't want to let her go, not now, not ever. Still Jenna found a way to turn around in his embrace until she faced him and when she opened her eyes she started to giggle.  
“What?” Peter asked.  
In reply Jenna reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. “Bed head,” she remarked, still smiling. “All your curls are gone. It's a mess.”  
“Happens,” he growled and pulled her in for a kiss. Why couldn't they just stay here exactly like this?  
Too soon Jenna broke the kiss and looked at him and to his dismay he realized that her smile had faded. She breathed in deeply before she spoke. “We should probably get up,” she reasoned.  
Peter couldn't quite say what got into him at that moment, but the words soon stumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. “We could get together again when Elaine is out of town.”

The look on Jenna's face instantly made him wish that he had never suggested it, but he realized that by now it was far too late to take it back while Jenna scrambled into a sitting position and reached for the sheet to cover herself.  
“Are you asking me to start an affair with you?” she blurted out, the disbelief and disappointment all too audible in her voice.  
“That's not what I meant,” Peter replied and reached out, trying to take her hand, but Jenna pulled it away. There was an expression on her face that Peter had never seen before and it reached beyond mere disappointment.  
“What exactly is it that you're suggesting?!” she spat.  
“I don't know!” Peter replied defensively. “I don't want this to be a one time thing. I want to be with you again. I want-”  
“What? To live your midlife-crisis to the fullest?!” Jenna demanded to know. “To add an affair with a woman half your age to the house and-”  
“I am not having a midlife crisis!”  
“Yes, you are!” Jenna shouted at him and finally rose from the bed. Now that she towered over him she seemed even angrier than before. “And I let you use me for it! You made me part of it!”  
“That's not true! I-” Peter broke off. He had to say it now, the thing that he hadn't even dared to think for the past few months, but he could no longer deny it. “I think I'm sort of in love with you.”  
“Well, and I think you just _sort of_ cheated on your wife.”  
With that Jenna reached for the rest of the bed sheet, wrapped it around her body and darted out of the room, leaving Peter on his own. All of a sudden he did feel ashamed. Not because of Elaine, but because Jenna was right. He had dragged her into this mess.

* * *

When Jenna emerged from the shower she felt terribly guilty for her earlier outburst and at the same time terribly confused. _I think I'm sort of in love with you._ Sort of? What did that even mean? Jenna knew that it had been a bad idea to sleep with Peter, but now that it was done she had to admit that it was her fault as well as his. She had wanted it. She had known what the consequences would be and still she had wanted it.  
“I'm sorry,” she uttered meekly when she stepped back into the living room and found Peter sitting on the sofa. He had only put on his pants and t-shirt so far and he hadn't even bothered to fix his wild hair. Eventually Peter looked up and granted her an apologetic smile.  
“No, I'm sorry,” he replied. “You were right. I dragged you into this. I made you become the person the newspapers described and I have to apologize for that.”  
Jenna shook her head and sank down on the sofa next to Peter. “We're both adults, we both made a decision and so we share the blame,” she reasoned. “I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. You've got a lot more to lose here than I have.”  
Before Jenna could react Peter had reached out and taken her hand and right now she didn't even want to pull it away as he squeezed it softly.  
“I really don't want this to end here, Jen,” Peter told her sincerely. “I've been so good at lying to myself for the past few months, but this is what I've wanted all along. You. Me. _Us._ ”  
Jenna inhaled deeply, trying to rack her brain for something she could say to him. She didn't _want_ it to end here either, but she also didn't want to be the other woman because sooner or later they would all get hurt. Herself. Peter. Elaine. The newspapers would find out and tear them apart, ruining their public image. Right now all they did was gossip, but if they found proof. . .  
“Peter, please, be reasonable,” Jenna said softly and granted him a smile. “You and Elaine, you'll fix your marriage eventually and then you'll regret what we did. I know it's temping and, trust me, I am tempted to just give in as well, but imagine what the consequences could be. We went too far and we're gonna get away with it this time. We shouldn't push our luck.”  
“What about our friendship?” he wanted to know and all of a sudden Peter looked terrified.  
“We'll get over it,” she told him. “I love our friendship and I know that it's strong enough to survive this. What it won't survive is an ongoing affair, your wife finding out, the press finding out, . . .”  
To her relief Peter nodded.  
“Let's just try it, okay? No more kisses, no more. . . well, you know.”  
He chuckled. “What about hugging?”  
Jenna frowned at him in response. “You wanna give up the hugging?”  
“No?”

Before Peter could say another word Jenna flung her arms around his chest and buried her face in his shirt, hiding it from his sight so he wouldn't see her tears. She was trying so hard to do the right thing, to be the reasonable one when she wished she could just be the opposite. Jenna wanted to be with him, but not like this, not as the other woman, no matter how easy it was to just give in. In time, she hoped, her feelings would fade. His surely would.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your lovely comments! Peter and Jenna go their separate ways, but for how long will they be able to actually stay apart?

When Peter stepped back inside his London house he had expected to have another day to think about what had happened over the weekend. The joy and excitement over his fanart book becoming reality paled in comparison to the moments he had spent with Jenna. It was true, he had lied to himself over the past few months and he wasn't just _sort of_ in love with her, Peter truly loved Jenna. He knew that there was nothing he could have said to change her mind and he knew how wrong it had been to suggest what he had, so he had nodded, he had agreed and now he was going to show her that his feelings wouldn't go away, that he wanted to be with her no matter what it took.  
Yet when Peter stepped into the living room he found something he truly hadn't expected.  
“Where have you been?!” Elaine demanded to know, her voice cold as stone.  
“I, uh,” he spluttered in response, completely taken aback by his wife's sudden appearance. She wasn't supposed to be here. She wasn't supposed to come back until tomorrow. “I went out.”  
“All night?”  
Something was wrong with her voice, Peter could tell. It sounded almost as if she had been crying or as if she was about to start. He wasn't quite sure which one.  
“Didn't you say you wouldn't be back until tomorrow?” he asked for lack of anything else to say. He couldn't tell her about Jenna. Not now, not ever.  
“Do not change the subject, Capaldi,” Elaine warned him and rose to her feet. She was so much shorter than him and yet her mere presence right now seemed threatening. “I came back yesterday because we finished early. I wanted to surprise you, but you weren't there. I thought maybe you had gone out to spend some time with friends cause you've done that a lot lately, but you weren't here when I woke up. So, where were you?”  
Peter sighed and let his shoulders sink. It seemed that, at last, he had run out of lies to tell to his wife and maybe now was the time to finally come clean. He took another deep breath and he knew that it was now or never.

“I bought a house,” he replied simply.  
Elaine frowned at him. “You bought a house,” she repeated as if she needed to say it in order to wrap her head around the idea.  
“A small one, a weekend home just outside of London. I've spent the past few months renovating it with the help of some guys I've met that live close by.”  
“Months?!”  
Peter nodded. “I bought it last year in November.”  
His wife sank back down on the sofa and for a moment she didn't say a word and after a while Peter started to feel a little uneasy under her constant stare. He drew his phone from his pocket and opened the gallery, showing Elaine a photo of the view outside of the living room. She didn't even seem to notice.  
“How on earth did you buy a house without telling me?!” she demanded to know. “And above all, why?”  
He swallowed and took a seat next to her, but he couldn't quite explain why he had done it. The _how_ was easy. He and Elaine still kept separate accounts next to their joint account and he had paid for the house with his own money, making sure that his wife wouldn't notice a thing. But why? That he couldn't explain.  
“I came across it the day I went to take pictures of the cloister ruins. I fell in love with the place and bought it the next week,” he explained.  
Elaine scoffed. “Well, the house is the least of your problems right now,” she replied furiously and reached for a newspaper on the coffee table before she threw it right into his lap. “This one should be a lot harder to explain!”  
Peter opened the newspapers at the exactly right page where he instantly noticed a large photo of himself and Jenna, one he knew well already because the newspapers had printed it so often by now, but this time it wasn't the only picture. There was one of Tom as well and to his horror Peter instantly realized what had happened.

**Scorned boyfriend spills the beans**  
_Victoria star Tom Hughes talks exclusively about the affair between Doctor Who actors Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman_

Peter only skimmed through the article, shaking his head in the process. It was nothing but lies that the _scorned boyfriend_ had come up with, probably in an attempt to get back at Jenna. Somehow Tom had taken Peter's presence at Jenna's house and the photo she had taken of him that one day in his underwear as proof that they have been having an affair since last summer and there was no denying that Tom had in fact given the interview. No, there were too many details, too many things a reporter could never have known about, like Peter crashing their movie date with popcorn. But that didn't change the fact that Tom had made up the affair he was describing in his attempts to slander Jenna in the interview.  
“This is outrageous!” Peter shouted and threw the newspaper back on the coffee table. “He's lying!”  
“Is he?” Elaine arched up her eyebrows. “Cause he seems to know an awful lot of what went on while you were living with Jenna.”  
“He's making it up!” he argued angrily. “Tom is jealous and he's angry because he and Jenna broke up!”  
“Because of you!”  
Peter opened his mouth, but that was something he couldn't deny. He was the one who had caused the break up and he knew it. And now the whole world did, too. Photos snapped from a distance and idle gossip were one thing, but an actual interview with one of the people involved was quite a different thing. It didn't matter how Peter looked at it or what he did from now on, there would always be a large bunch of people who now believed Peter had an ongoing affair with Jenna and there was nothing he could do to prove them wrong.  
“You should stop seeing her for a while,” Elaine demanded.  
Peter turned his head to look at her. “You believe this junk?!”  
“It doesn't matter what I believe,” Elaine half yelled at him. “This is what I've warned you about from the beginning, this is exactly what I thought would happen, but you just wouldn't listen. This could damage your career and Jenna's as well, so, for once, man up and do the right thing. Stay away from her.”  
“My career is fine! They're gonna publish the art book!”  
Without a warning Elaine rose to her feet and darted across the room. “Fuck your silly art book!” she shouted right before the door slammed shut.

Not knowing what else do to, Peter walked up to his office to distract himself the only way he knew how – by drawing, yet when he reached the door he found it ajar. He realized at once that Elaine had been in here even though the office had always been his sacred space, the one room in this house that was entirely his.  
When he stopped in front of the book shelf, however, Peter found a surprise far greater and the discovery made his stomach twist into a knot. The book in which he kept the drawings of Jenna had been moved just a bit, but he didn't need a lot of imagination to realize that Elaine had been in here. And she had seen the drawings.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments :) Sooooo, Elaine knows about the drawings and she chose not to mention it. Uh-oh? But let's have a look at Jenna in the meantime.

Jenna walked down the red carpet, smiling towards the crowd and stopping here and there to give an autograph. She hadn't slept much, so the flashing of the cameras blinded her in her stride and the only thing she really wanted was for this evening to finally be over. The entire event felt forced, the smiles she was faking together with Tom were forced and they had already let them know that this season of Victoria was to be their last one.  
It hadn't come as a surprise if Jenna was entirely honest because she and Tom had lacked the proper chemistry for the last part of the series and even though Jenna had been angry at him at first, right now she just wanted it all to be over. Tom smiled for the public and posed for selfies on the other side and Jenna threw him a dark look across the red carpet, knowing that it was all his fault. He still didn't believe her, but that was no longer her concern. Victoria was wrapped and if Tom wanted to play the hurt lover, then he could do it without her in his life. At first she had hoped that he would see reason, but that hope was long gone. Now Jenna had more than enough worries of her own without Tom adding to the mix.  
A month had passed since her weekend with Peter and even though he had called her many times, Jenna had refused to pick up the phone. She couldn't talk to him, at least not now. Too much was going through her head and she still missed him terribly, maybe now more than ever, and she needed to wait for a while longer. If he tempted her now Jenna wasn't sure she would have the strength to resist.  
“Slut!” someone in the crowd yelled towards her and Jenna raised her head to see where the voice had come from, but she couldn't make it out. Too many people were pushing towards her, trying to get a selfie or an autograph and Jenna decided to brush the matter aside. The majority of her fans were lovely, but some could turn a little crazy when they thought their affection wasn't returned.  
Then all of a sudden a microphone was held into her face. “What can we expect from the new season?” the reporter asked her.  
Jenna forced another smile. “Uhm, lots of things, actually,” she stammered. She had prepared for questions, but she was just so tired that suddenly she seemed to have forgotten everything she they had prepared her for. “This season will revolve around Victoria's and Albert's marriage and family life, for example.”  
“So it's very domestic?” the journalist demanded to know.  
“Well, not all the time, but we see Victoria trying to balance her duty and her family, which isn't always easy,” Jenna explained. She felt so tired and she just wanted to go home, yet when she tried to move away the reporter didn't seem to want to let her go just yet.  
“And how was it, shooting those domestic scenes with Tom after he caught you having an affair with a married man?”  
For a moment Jenna was too tired and too baffled to say anything. Of course she and Peter had been in the newspapers together since that night at the cinema, but she couldn't imagine why on earth a reporter would get such an idea – or why he had the audacity to ask her about it.  
Luckily for Jenna one of the security guards soon beckoned her to move on, so there was only one thing she could do.  
“Tom and I are professionals and whatever personal issues we might or might not have is nothing of your concern,” she replied harshly and continued to make her way past the crowd and into the building.

There was still half an hour left before their Q&A event was due to start and something about the certainty with which the reporter had spoken was beginning to bug Jenna. Of course, many had picked up on the rumours, but this was something new entirely, so Jenna decided to do the one thing she could do: talk to Tom.  
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” she asked him and before he even had a chance to protest, Jenna reached for his arm and dragged him into a quiet corner where no one else would overhear them. This place was swarming with journalists. The last thing they needed now was a spat in front of them.  
“Do we have to?” Tom asked in return and she watched him roll his eyes.  
“Yes,” she hissed sharply. “Cause I was just approached by a reporter outside who asked me what it was like to work with you after you've caught me cheating. Do you know anything about that? Did you say anything to them?”  
He scoffed in reply and his reaction confused her for a brief moment. Then he started to laugh. Something was wrong, something that Jenna was missing. “You haven't seen it, have you? The interview?” he snorted. “Of course I told them. I told them everything I know.”  
It seemed as if Jenna's heart had sunk into her boots and right now she could do nothing but gawk at him. She had known that Tom was hurt, that he was jealous, but she wouldn't have imagined him capable of such a vicious thing.  
“They know about your affair, about how your boyfriend interrupted our date, the naughty photos you keep of him, everything.”  
“You told them what you _think_ you know!” Jenna almost shouted at him. “There's a big difference between that and the truth!”  
“You cheated!” Tom barked. “You cheated and you lied about it! I could have gotten past the betrayal, Jenna, I really could have. But you didn't even have the decency to tell me the truth!”  
“What I told you was the truth!” she argued angrily. Jenna had no idea what she could say to him to make him believe, maybe there was nothing she could say.  
Tom inhaled deeply, looking intently at her. “You know what? I don't even care anymore. You deserve everything that's coming to you.”  
When Tom turned around and left her standing in the corner, Jenna felt too numb to speak or move. It was only when the flashing lights of the cameras woke her from her trance that she knew she needed to get out of the spotlight for a moment.

She was relieved to find the toilets empty and Jenna took her first real breath when she had closed the cubicle behind her and sat down on the lid. Everything was a disaster. Her ruined relationship with Tom. The event. Peter. All of it.  
Peter. Did he know? Had he seen the article? Had Elaine seen it? Maybe something had happened and he had tried to call and tell her when she hadn't answered? Not knowing what else to do Jenna drew out her phone and dialled his number, praying that he would answer.  
It took a couple of rings, but at last she heard his familiar, soothing voice that managed to make her heart ache in an instant. She had missed him. She still missed, every moment of the day.  
“Hello Jen,” Peter said kindly. “How are you?”  
“Terrible,” she sighed. “You?”  
“Could be better. Have you seen the article?”  
He knew. He had probably tried to tell her weeks ago. “I haven't, but a nasty journalist just asked me about it. I can't believe Tom gave the interview. I can't believe he'd do such a thing.”  
“Did he say anything to you?” Peter demanded to know. “Do you need me to come over and punch him?”  
Jenna uttered a soft, weak laugh in response. The thought of Peter beating up anyone was ridiculous and yet it lifted her spirits a little. “You'd only end up with a broken wrist with his thick head,” she remarked. “No, I'm fine. I'll just ignore him. It'll all be over soon.”  
“Well, my offer stands,” he reassured her. “If you need me, I'll be there.”  
She paused for a moment, not really knowing what to say. Just talking to him felt so good, so reassuring, so. . . Jenna couldn't even think of a word. She still wanted to be with him so much.  
“Thank you,” Jenna replied quietly. “And I'm sorry I didn't call you back sooner.”  
She heard Peter sigh on the other end of the line. “You needed some space, I get it. I hope it helped though.”  
Jenna let her head sink against the cubicle wall with a thud. It hadn't helped. Quite the opposite. “I miss you terribly, Peter.”  
He didn't even hesitate to reply. “God, Jen, I miss you, too,” Peter said and he sounded a little desperate. “I think about you all the time. I think about the weekend-”  
“We shouldn't,” Jenna reasoned.  
“No, we shouldn't. But here we are, doing it anyway”  
Jenna nodded even though he couldn't see it. “Here we are,” she repeated in defeat.

Suddenly the toilet door opened and two other women, chatting with each other, entered the room and walked straight into the cubicles next to her own. The time had come to put an end to her phone call.  
Peter chuckled on the other end of the line. “Are you hiding on the loo?”  
Jenna hesitated. “Maybe?”  
“Okay,” he laughed, “Jen, do me a favour. Step out of the cubicle and take a look at the mirror, okay?”  
After she had taken a deep breath Jenna rose from the lid of the toilet and opened the door. She stepped forward until she was facing her own reflection.  
“Okay?”  
“Now look at the gorgeous woman in front of you,” Peter told her. “You're looking absolutely stunning tonight-”  
“How would you know that? Maybe I'm wearing a potato sack,” she chuckled.  
“You would look stunning in that as well. Now look at yourself, go out there, smile. You're amazing and you're the star of the show. They're here because of your talent and not because of something that idiot made up in a silly interview. Go out there and be amazing!”  
All of a sudden a smile spread across her face when she thought about how unconditional Peter's affection for her was. He would always have her back, no matter what. Just as Jenna would have his.  
“Thank you,” she replied softly. “Thank you so much.”  
“Go out there and be a star,” he told her.  
“I love you.”  
The words came over her lips so easily as if she had said them to him a million times before. It didn't matter what he replied, it didn't matter what he thought about it. It was the truth and right now Jenna simply felt the need to say it out loud.  
“I love you, too,” he replied sincerely.  
And with that Jenna hung up and looked up at her own reflection. She would come out of her hiding place and do exactly what Peter had told her to do. For the first time in weeks she didn't feel like a complete failure because if even she had nothing else left, she would always have Peter.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your kind comments :) Yes, Peter is always there for Jenna - but who will be there for Peter when he needs support?

Peter sighed when he looked at his own reflection and threw the tie back over the chair while Jenna's words echoed in his head. A part of him wished that she could accompany him tonight instead of Elaine because, unlike his wife, Jenna had always supported the idea of the fanart book that was officially going to be introduced to the public tonight. It should be Jenna by his side tonight, not Elaine.  
Some days Peter could hardly believe everything that had happened in less than a year. Finishing Doctor Who, starting and publishing his own fanart book, becoming a grandfather, buying a house in which spent more time now than he did at home, his marriage slowly falling to ruin, that one wonderful night with Jenna. Three months had passed since then. Three months in which he hadn't seen her. They had spoken on the phone of course and lately their calls had become more frequent again, but still they weren't a substitute for the real thing. Peter wanted to see her, touch her, kiss her. He still missed her kisses more than anything in the world.  
Yet Peter had needed those three months to clear his head, to think about it and the more time passed the surer he became that his marriage was beyond repair. Elaine never said a thing, in fact, she hadn't even mentioned the drawings she had found with a single syllable and Peter couldn't understand why that was. Was she as scared as he was to admit that something was wrong between the two of them? Was that why she would neither deny or admit that she believed the nasty newspaper articles about him and Jenna? After 30 years admitting that openly seemed like too big a step to take alone, so Peter had hoped for Elaine to make a move. Yet she never had.

The squeaking of the bedroom door tore him out of his thoughts and he turned around to see Elaine standing in the door way, already wearing her jacket.  
“Oh, you're ready?” he asked without enthusiasm. He would much rather go on his own than have her there. For some reason Elaine had come to hate the idea of the fanart book by now and the mere mention of it was enough to cause a fight. No, something was terribly wrong between the two of them.  
“Not quite,” Elaine sighed. “Cissy called. Abi has a fever and she's crying the whole time. I'm gonna go over there and see if I can help out.”  
In response Peter knitted his eyebrows. “What about the publicity event for the art book?” he wanted to know.  
His wife granted him a smile, but a few moments later it turned into a laugh. “Peter, you've created the entire book without my help. You made it. You got it published. I'm sure you can sign a few copies without me being there?”  
“I sincerely hope it'll be more than just a few copies,” he replied.  
“There you go,” she said and stepped forward, but paused when she had reached him. Normally Elaine would have given him a kiss at this point and wished him luck, but not this time. “I know I haven't been supporting you in this. Truth is, I still don't like it.”  
“Why?” Peter wanted to know.  
“Do I need a reason?” Elaine asked back, her voice sounding a little harsh. “I don't have to like everything you do. I don't like the book. I didn't like the fact that you spent so much time at Jenna's house last summer and look how that turned out.”  
Peter swallowed and quickly averted his eyes. In truth, even his wife didn't know just how exactly that had turned out. She knew nothing of the weekend he had spent with Jenna and she never would.  
“I don't like what it made of us,” she admitted after a while. “We haven't been the same since you came back from Cardiff and I hope that once the whole book thing is over we can. . . I don't know, get a fresh start maybe? We still haven't been on that holiday that you were so desperate for before you finished Doctor Who.”  
Peter let his shoulders sink when he realized what was happening. Elaine had picked up on something, but she was letting her anger out on the project that he loved so much. She had found the sketches of himself and Jenna, she thought it was all connected to the book. Peter suddenly felt a lump in his throat when he thought about what would happen if she found out the truth, about everything that was going to happen from now on.  
“Good luck,” Elaine wished him harshly and reached for her purse when he failed to answer and a few seconds later she was out of the door.

Peter reasoned that whatever problem he and Elaine had, it would have to wait until after tonight and all of a sudden, when he realized he was going to have to attend the publicity event on his own, Peter felt a lot more nervous than he had before. Of course it wouldn't be a big thing. He would go to Forbidden Planet, answer a few questions and sign copies of his book and suddenly Peter felt as if it was all going too fast. Just three months ago he had signed the contract and the BBC had pulled out all the stops to publish it before his Doctor was _forgotten_. Maybe it would have been better to wait, but he realized that it was far too late now for any second thoughts.  
So instead Peter reached for his phone and called the only person he could think of.  
“Tie or no tie?” he asked, chuckling, when Jenna picked up the phone.  
She giggled in response. “That would depend on where you're going.”  
He inhaled deeply before he spoke. “The signing of my book that is going to be released to the public tonight. I have to be at Forbidden Planet in two hours.”  
“Oh, I'm sorry,” Jenna apologized instantly. “I had totally forgotten that was today. And no tie. Definitely no tie.”  
“You could come,” Peter suggested, wanting to get his real question out before he could think better of it, but to his dismay Jenna's enthusiasm faded quickly and she took an awfully long moment to respond.  
“I'm not sure that's a very good idea,” she argued.  
“I haven't seen you in months,” he retorted immediately, but quickly softened his voice. “I miss you. And I would love to have you there tonight.”  
He heard Jenna sigh in response. “Peter, the press is going to be there. If they see us together, they're going to have a field day.”  
She was right, of course she was, but still Peter didn't want to give up without a fight. He just missed her so much.  
“It's a public event. We've been friends for years. Do you really think they'd turn that into something dirty?”  
“You know they will,” Jenna replied and if Peter wasn't completely mistaken, he thought that she sounded sad. “They turned our visit to the gallery in York into a date.”  
Peter blew the air out between his teeth. If only he could tell her that she was wrong. “I just want to see you, Jen. And I really don't wanna go there on my own tonight.”  
“Well, what about Elaine?”  
He shrugged. “Gone to help with Abi tonight,” Peter explained.  
For the tiniest moment Jenna hesitated, but he knew better than to get his hopes up. “I'm sure you'll be amazing, Peter. And I can't wait to get my hands on a copy, which I assume you're gonna bring over personally next week in exchange for a cup of coffee.”  
Next week. It was still so long until the next week. “Alright,” he replied in defeat. “Alright.”  
“Good luck, Peter,” she wished him sincerely.  
“Thank you.”


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments :) Now, you thought Peter was sweet until now? Wait til you see this. . .

The response of the fans was far beyond his expectations. Peter had anticipated a small crowd, but he hadn't exactly expected them to queue up in front of the shop to get a chance to buy a copy of his book. He wasn't quite sure how many he had signed by now, but he was hoping that Forbidden Planet wouldn't run out of stock on the first day. In truth, the signing should have been over an hour ago, yet he had decided to stay for a while longer, signing books and talking to his fans until everyone got what they had come here for. Slowly but surely he was starting to feel a little tired and there was a nasty cramp spreading through his hand, but Peter just couldn't find it in his heart to send the rest away because he remembered all too vividly what it was like to be a fan. Luckily they were closing in on the end of the queue. Just a few more.  
“Thank you so much,” one of the girls giggled nervously. “You're my favourite Doctor.”  
“Thank _you_ ,” Peter replied happily, but by now he was too tired to come up with anything better to say. He had received so many compliments today, spoken to so many fans. His brain felt positively empty by now. Then another book was pushed in front of his nose.  
“Who shall I make this out to?” he asked and readied his pen.  
“Oh, I don't know,” a familiar voice teasing him. “Jenna will be fine.”  
His head shot up in an instant and Peter stared right into her lovely face. He smiled at her and for a brief moment he thought his heart might burst with joy over seeing her again.  
“Jenna,” he uttered happily and rose from his seat to give her a hug across the table. “You came.”  
She laughed softly while she wrapped her arms around him in return. “Well, I decided I couldn't leave you alone after all. Someone's got to make sure you get the signature right. Now sign my copy, please.”  
“You know you could have gotten one for free, right?” Peter asked her and scribbled his name into the book. Yet before he handed it back to Jenna he decided to add a couple of nice words especially for her.  
She shrugged. “It's a good investment.”  
Once he had made sure that the writing was dry Peter closed the book and handed it back to Jenna with a smile. “Do you wanna wait until I've finished here? They've got a room in the back where they put my stuff.”  
“Sure,” Jenna agreed. “Go and sign the rest of them. Looks like they're gonna sell out tonight.”  
When she was guided into the back room by a member of staff Peter had another glance at the rest of the queue and noticed that it really wouldn't take long until he had finished signing all.  
“Have they really sold out?” he asked the employee next to him.  
“Yep,” the young man confirmed. “We sold the last one ten minutes ago.”  
With a smile Peter greeted the next fan who handed him his copy to sign and all of a sudden it seemed as if he had only imagined his earlier exhaustion. His enthusiasm was back and he would sign every book until his hand fell off.

* * *

Jenna glanced at the signature and Peter's words and she couldn't help but smile at the book in her hands. _For Jenna. Without you this book wouldn't even exist. Thank you for all your love and support. Thank you for believing in me. Peter._  
Maybe it had been a mistake to come here because she still felt butterflies in her stomach whenever she looked at him, but tonight wasn't about her. It was about Peter and he had needed her support.  
When the door opened a short while later and Peter stepped into the room he greeted her with a warm smile and once again spread his arms. Jenna didn't hesitate to hug him once again, this time in private. It felt so good to see him again and even though she had missed him terribly during the past three months, she only now realized just how much.  
“You made it,” she told him. “You got your book.”  
“And you're here,” Peter added with a sigh. “I'm so glad you came.”  
Jenna chuckled when she pulled out of his embrace and looked at him. “I'm sure you could have managed on your own. All sold out, I assume?”  
He nodded. “All the copies they had. They've already ordered a new batch. Did you read the dedication?”  
“What you just wrote for me?” Jenna replied. “Yes, it was really sweet. Thank you.”  
“No, not that one, the official one.”  
Jenna frowned at him. She hadn't had time to read the entire book yet, only looked at several of the paintings in it, but now her curiosity was sparked. She crossed the room and took the book back up, opening it at the first page.

_For Clara. My companion, my best friend._

“It was all they would allow,” Peter explained. “I couldn't dedicate it to you, so I chose the next best thing. Wasn't exactly easy to convince them to put that in there after Bill and all, but since the book is from the Doctor's perspective, it kind of makes sense.”  
Jenna turned around, for a moment not knowing what to say. “You dedicated it to me?” she asked eventually.  
“Clara. Officially.” He granted her a smile. “You know, with the press being all over us I thought it would be wiser not to use your name, but yes, it's you.”  
She gawked at him in response and right now she was truly lost for words. Yes, it had been her idea, she had told him to go through with it, but that was it. That was all she had done for the book, put an idea in his head.  
“I don't know what to say,” she breathed in reply.  
Peter shrugged. “You don't have to say anything. The fact that you're here means more to me than anything else. I've really missed you, you know?”  
Without thinking about it any further, Jenna stepped forward until she had reached him and grabbed Peter by the lapels of his jacket, pulling him down until their lips met. He loved her. She loved him. For a single moment, just as long as their kiss lasted, it was all that mattered. Peter was obviously surprised at first, but he quickly yielded to her kiss and closed his arms around her back. They were doing something very wrong, they were being unreasonable and yet Jenna didn't care. It was just like the day she had given in to him when they had stayed at his house. Could that be repeated? Could they really do that?  
They broke apart just in time before the door to the room opened and an employee stuck his head through the crack. “We're gonna close up in twenty minutes,” he explained.  
Peter nodded. “We'll gather our things.”

The door closed again and Jenna watched as Peter's shoulders sank. It was obvious that he had hoped for a few more moments of privacy. They had gotten away with it once. Why not a second time?  
Jenna reached for his hand. “Elaine will be gone all night, yeah?” she asked.  
Peter frowned at her as if he didn't quite understand what she was insinuating. “I suppose so?”  
Her heart was beating so fast that her voice trembled a little when she spoke. “Let's go to my place, okay?”  
It was almost funny to watch as the realisation was beginning to dawn on him and he finally understood her suggestion for what it was. Peter's face lit up in an instant. “Are you sure?” he asked.  
Jenna smiled at him. “Absolutely.”


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *big group hug* Thank you for the lovely comments :)))
> 
> I know you're all sad to see this story end, but when it is finished it'll be my longest fic yet and it has to end at some point. Don't worry though, because I'm already 14 chapters into writing my new Whouffaldi fic and I'm fairly certain you will enjoy that one as well :) I will start posting it on Wednesday, the day after this fic ends.

Peter wasn't entirely sure if he was truly awake or if he had dozed off on the way home and slipped into one of his dreams. Kissing Jenna, undressing her while they were still walking upstairs to her bedroom, pressing her into the sheets – it all felt too good to be real. He had missed her and as well as their intimacy.  
Jenna didn't speak for a long time after they had collapsed into the pillows, but it was obvious that neither of them felt like going to sleep anymore. Instead Peter held her close to his chest while she started to draw patterns on his skin with the tip of her index finger. Yet eventually he could no longer bear the silence. There were things he needed to say, things he thought Jenna should know.  
“I don't want to make you the other woman,” he said quietly before he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.  
Jenna sighed in his arms. “Well, it's what I am now, isn't it?”  
“I need to do something,” he told her. “I can't keep this up, I can't do that to you or Elaine or myself. I need to talk to her.”  
She shifted in bed and turned her head to look at him, frowning. “Are you going to break up with your wife?” Jenna asked in disbelief.  
“I need to talk to her,” Peter determined. “I need to be honest and I need her to be honest with me in return. I'm not sure where that's going to lead. She's been in my office, you know?”  
“What? Without your permission?”  
Peter nodded. “And she found some drawings that I had hidden away. She hasn't mentioned them, but she's been mad at me ever since. I think it's time we talked.”  
“You should've talked months ago, Peter. Long before we ever did. . . anything.”  
He inhaled deeply and pulled Jenna a little closer against his own body. “Yeah,” he replied thoughtfully. “Yeah, you're probably right.”  
“Five minutes?” Jenna asked him, granting him a hopeful look and Peter squeezed her softly.  
“Yes, five more minutes,” he sighed heavily. But right now Peter was certain of one thing. He needed Jenna in his life and five more minutes were never nearly enough.

* * *

Peter waited in vain for Elaine to come home that night and he was growing increasingly nervous the longer she stayed at Cissy's place. They needed to talk and Peter had no idea where that would lead. Would they make up? Would it end his marriage? Should he confess to everything he had done? Peter had thought about it all night, but he still hadn't come to a conclusion. As he sat in the kitchen, sipping his morning coffee, the front door finally clicked and opened.  
Peter jumped up from his seat in an instant to greet Elaine in the hall when he realized that she hadn't come home alone. She was holding Abi in her carrier.  
That wasn't good. That wasn't good at all. Apart from the fact that Peter loved to spend time with his granddaughter, what he really wanted right now was to get some things off his chest and they could hardly have a proper discussion while they were changing Abi's nappies.  
“You're gonna watch her today,” Elaine announced gruffly and opened the straps before she dropped the baby into his arms.  
Despite his nervousness Peter couldn't help but smile at the little face. “Hello sweetheart,” he whispered and the baby made a gurgling sound in response. “You wanted to see your grandpa today?”  
“She's sick and Cissy and Ben need a break, so I told them you'd have an eye on her today,” Elaine explained, her voice ice cold as she made her way deeper into the house and dropped the bag with Cissy's things on the stairs. “She's already been to the doctor's office and there's no need to go back unless her fever rises much further.”  
“Elaine,” Peter said and followed her through the hall, “I thought we could talk.”  
“I don't have time to talk,” she responded as she entered their bedroom and Peter watched while she packed some of her things into a pile and started to change out of her clothes. “It's Susan's birthday today and I promised to help her with the preparations for the party. It'll have to wait until tomorrow.”  
Abi began to grizzle in his arms and Peter propped up her head a little and started rocking her, yet he wasn't quite done with Elaine. She seemed mad. Madder than usual. “Elaine-”  
“I know you went to the book signing with Jenna,” she replied in a harsh manner. “And I don't want to talk about anything now because I'm really, really angry.”  
His wife shot around and glared at him. “I've asked you one thing, Peter, just one thing and that was to stay away from Jenna for a while.”  
“Shush,” Peter hushed her instantly when the baby in his arms started to cry. “Keep it down.”  
Elaine buttoned up her fresh blouse and reached for her purse. “Whatever,” she spat and made her way towards the door, but then stopped right next to him. Peter watched as she turned her head and looked at him for a long moment. “You know, I'm starting to think maybe the newspapers were right all along.”  
“Elaine-” Peter tried to say, but he didn't have the heart to finish his sentence. She was right. This wasn't the time to be having that sort of conversation.  
She swallowed and eventually nodded. “Thought so.”

Before Peter could stop her Elaine darted out of the room and he was left on his own with the crying Abigail.  
“Hey, hey, hey,” he said softly as he adjusted Abi's position in his arms. “Don't cry. Grandpa's here. Aren't you happy to see me?”  
Yet the wailing only grew louder.  
“Are you tired? Hungry? Need a new nappy? What is it?”  
Of course Peter never got a response for that, so he decided to find out the reason by himself. Once he had changed the nappy Peter was sure that she was about to calm down, but when that didn't happen, he tried to bring her to sleep – to no avail.  
With only one option left Peter strapped the carrier around his chest and went into the kitchen, determined to warm up some formula because Abi was obviously hungry.  
“Yummy, yummy formula,” he chuckled when he brought the baby bottle to her mouth, yet his granddaughter showed no interest in anything apart from crying her lungs out.  
“Do you want your toy? Is that is?” he asked gently and walked back to the bag. He found the Adipose plush toy that he had bought, one of Abi's favourites, but she showed no reaction. The rattle – no reaction. Her favourite blanket – nothing.

After he had paced the house for half an hour, trying in vain to calm her down, Peter had run out of options and eventually decided to call his daughter.  
“She won't stop crying,” Peter sighed into the phone. “Is there a special trick that I haven't tried?”  
Cissy yawned in response. “I'm sorry, Dad. We were at the end of our tether, too. She's just generally in a really, really bad mood,” she replied. “Try rocking her for a bit and talking to her, that usually helps after a while.”  
“It's all I've done for the past hour,” he argued.  
“Try disguising your voice,” Cissy suggested. “She prefers women talking. Ben is trying very hard not to take that personally and it's been hilarious to watch his attempts at sounding like a woman.”  
Peter growled in response and and glowered at the fussing baby in his arms. “You want me to make a fool of myself, yeah?”  
“At some point she'll fall asleep from sheer exhaustion, Dad. Don't worry,” his daughter said. “And thank you for doing this. Ben and I really need a little break.”  
“It's fine,” Peter sighed. “I love spending time with Abi. However, I'd love it a bit more if she wasn't crying.”  
“She'll fall asleep soon, I'm sure,” his daughter reassured him. “Thank you.”

When Cissy hung up Peter rose back up from the sofa and walked around the house for a while, trying the disguised voice on Abi completely in vain. She just wouldn't calm down, no matter how hard he tried. He checked the nappy once again, he tried to feed her a second time, he held up her toys – nothing worked.  
Completely out of options and desperate for just a small moment of peace, Peter reached for the phone once again.  
“Hey Jenna.”  
She chuckled in response. “Is that a crying baby?”  
He let out a long, frustrated groan. “Jen, I hate to ask this of you, but do you have some time to spare?”  
While Peter explained the situation to Jenna with Abigail still crying her lungs out in his arms, he prayed that one of the two would show him mercy.


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your lovely comments!!! Fluffity fluffy fluff is what you want? Mhhhhhh, let's see. . .

Jenna hadn't wanted to come, she hadn't wanted to say yes. Seeing Peter again, especially at his own house that he shared with Elaine, was potentially a very bad idea – at least until he had spoken to his wife. Yet when he had called and pleaded with her, the baby crying in the background, she just hadn't found it in her heart to say no to him despite her better judgement.  
He seemed relieved when he opened the door and something about the picture in front of her – Peter with his ruffled hair and look of despair on his face, a baby strapped to his chest – made her laugh.  
“Are you sure you've done that before?” Jenna chuckled when she stepped inside. The house hadn't changed much since she had last seen it, back in 2015, basically a lifetime ago.  
“It's been a while,” Peter grumbled in reply and led her into the living room while the baby was still fussing in his arms.  
With a sigh Jenna sank down on the sofa and held out her arms. “Okay, give her to me,” she demanded with a smile. “Let's see if my female voice can work some miracles.”  
Peter unstrapped Abi from his chest and carefully handed over the baby to Jenna. For the first time she got a proper look at Peter's granddaughter and she instantly realized that he hadn't lied about her. She was truly as sweet as he had described her.  
“Hello little one,” Jenna whispered sweetly as she propped Abi up on her lap. “You must be Abigail. I've heard so much about you.”  
The baby was still grizzling, but at the same time eyed Jenna with a hint of curiosity. Then, in a sudden movement, she let herself fall against Jenna's chest and reached out to grab her hair.  
“Uh,” she laughed. “That's interesting, isn't it? So much hair to grab.”  
When the whining stopped Jenna glanced at Peter, who looked utterly offended. “Is that all it takes? I could have put on a wig.”  
Jenna chuckled. “I'd love to see that,” she replied. “But hey, I think little Abi might be a bit hungry.”  
“Why?”  
Instead of answering Jenna nodded towards the child in her arms who was happily chewing on her hair. Then she bent down to be at eye level with her. “Don't worry, your grandpa has done this before. It's just been a while.”  
“Hey!” Peter complained loudly, but eventually he let his shoulders sink with a sigh. “I'll warm up the formula again. Get I get you some as well?”  
Jenna wrinkled her nose. “I think I'd rather have a cup of coffee, thanks.”

Once Peter had retreated to the kitchen, Jenna decided to focus on little Abi, talking to her, playing with the Adipose plush toy that she found on the sofa and to her relief she noticed that the baby was beginning to calm down a bit. Her forehead felt hot, but not to a worrying degree, and Jenna was sure that once she had been fed Abigail would fall asleep at last.  
“One cup of coffee for Abigail and one baby bottle for Jenna,” Peter joked as he set the cup down on the coffee table and handed Jenna the bottle. Abigail started to drink in an instant.  
“She's as gorgeous as you described her,” she said when Peter sank down on the sofa next to her. “Little princess.”  
“I need to apologize to you, Jen,” Peter replied, his tone awfully serious.  
“No need, I'm happy to help.”  
“Not about that,” he said instantly and Jenna turned her head to look at him, frowning a little. She had no idea what he was on about, but she had a feeling that she would find out any moment.  
“That weekend we spent at the house,” Peter began, but hesitated while his eyes wandered to some spot behind her. “I shouldn't have asked to see you again. I shouldn't have made that suggestion. That was really awful of me and disrespectful towards you, to put you in that situation, to assume that you would want that.”  
“It's been months, Peter,” she reassured him. “And if it makes you feel any better, I considered it.”  
He sighed. “That makes me feel even worse, to be honest,” he admitted. “Jen, I want to do this the right way, but there doesn't seem to be one.”  
Slowly Jenna nodded in response. “I know it's a tough situation, but you're gonna talk to Elaine. You'll see what comes after and-”  
“We're gonna split,” Peter interrupted her and all of a sudden his voice sounded a little broken as if he had only come to the realisation just now.  
If it hadn't been for the baby in her arms Jenna would have reached out and taken his hand in an attempt to comfort him, but she already knew that it was fruitless. There was nothing right now that could comfort Peter, not when he had just realized that he and the woman he had been with for over 30 years weren't going to make it.  
“I'm sorry,” she whispered quietly and she meant it. Even though she loved him Peter was her friend first and foremost and what she wanted most was for him to be happy.  
He sighed in response. “You were right. We should have talked months ago. Before I moved out and lived with you, before we fought over Cissy's pregnancy, before I did all the things that I've done in the meantime. Even if we tried, I don't think it could ever be as it was before. Too much has happened, I've changed too much. My feelings have changed.”  
Jenna had no idea what to say, but she thought that Peter was right. A lot had happened and not just between the two of them and Jenna wasn't sure how much of that Elaine would be willing to forgive. Peter had lied to her and he had cheated, not many women could look past that. 

When the baby bottle was drained Abi looked a lot happier than she had before and Jenna carefully handed the child back to Peter who smiled at his little granddaughter.  
“She's an angel,” Jenna remarked softly.  
The smile on his face only widened. “She is,” he replied and turned to look at her. “Thanks for helping out.”  
“No problem,” she reassured him.  
A silence spread between the two of them, but Jenna felt as if he wasn't quite done yet, as if there was one more thing still on his mind that he wanted to get out.  
“Would you-” Peter broke off, sighing and averting his gaze. “When some time has passed and everything has calmed down a little, would you consider giving me a chance?”  
For a brief moment Jenna could hardly believe her ears. Was this happening? Was Peter truly going to break up with his wife? Was he asking her if she wanted to be with him? “You mean-”  
Peter nodded immediately.  
“Yes,” Jenna replied, not even hesitating for a moment. She had wanted it, secretly wanted it for so long now, but she had never even hoped that one day it would come true. “Of course I will.”  
He seemed to ponder his reaction for a few seconds, but then suddenly Peter leaned forward and brought their lips together in a kiss. Jenna smiled against his lips as she reached out and cupped his face in her hands, pulling him just a little closer until the baby between them started to complain.  
Jenna broke away, giggling. “I think she wants your attention,” she told him. “And I better go now.”  
“No, please,” Peter said, “stay for a bit longer.”  
When she looked into his pleading face Jenna uttered a sigh and sank back into the sofa cushions. “Alright,” she agreed and if she was completely honest, she didn't want to leave him at all. And maybe soon she wouldn't have to.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your amazing comments XD I hope you're all properly terrified because Peter and Elaine will finally talk. . . oh dear

“Breakfast!”  
Peter jerked awake in an instant and a sharp pain shot through his neck as he sat up. He had fallen asleep on the sofa and the first thing he realized was that Abi wasn't lying next to him. She had been there, right between him and the backrest.  
“Where's Abi?” he asked, the panic audible in his voice as he spun around and stared straight into Elaine's face. Elaine. He hadn't expected her to be there. Why was he surprised she was there?  
“Relax,” she said calmly. “Cissy picked her up about an hour ago.”  
It took Peter a moment to put the pieces back together. After Jenna had left in the evening he had stayed on the sofa with Abi and put on some cartoon on telly that had eventually lulled them both to sleep.  
“Oh,” he uttered eventually. “Why didn't you wake me? I wanted to say goodbye.”  
Elaine granted him a smile. “You seemed like you could use some more sleep,” she reasoned and pushed a cup of coffee under his nose.  
It was only now that Peter realized how nice Elaine was towards him. There was coffee and on the table he spotted two slices of toast. It was suspiciously nice, especially given the fight they had had the day before.  
“I'm sorry I had such a go at you yesterday,” she said after a moment. “I know the publicity thing meant a lot to you. Just because you didn't want to go on your own doesn't make it right for me to accuse you of having an affair.”  
Peter lowered his gaze in an instant. The moment had come. He had to tell her now, no matter how much it frightened him to admit it. But what other way was there?  
“I know you and Jenna have been friends forever, I know how close you are. It was unfair of me to use to accuse you of cheating. It's just that-”  
“Elaine,” Peter cut her off. He inhaled deeply and felt as if his heart was going to jump out of his chest at any given moment. There was no way to predict how she was going to react, what she was going to say. Would she kick him out? Would she plead with him to stay? Peter didn't know. Right now it felt as if he didn't know his wife at all.  
“I'm sorry, Peter,” she apologized sincerely. “I know the newspapers are full of rubbish and I've been mad at you for a while, so-”  
“Please, stop talking,” he hissed sharply and finally raised his head to look at her.

The expression on her face was unreadable and all of a sudden Peter felt frozen to the spot. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but it just wouldn't work. He had to tell her, no matter how he thought she would react. Elaine had a right to know the truth, the whole truth.  
Her eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown as she bent forward to get a closer look at him. “Peter, you're shaking. What's the matter with you?”  
“I did it,” he blurted out before he could think better of it and from one moment to the next it felt as if a weight had dropped off his shoulders. He had said it. He had actually admitted it.  
“Did what?” Elaine wanted to know and the lines on her face only deepened further.  
Peter inhaled deeply. “I did it. I cheated. Twice.”  
The silence between them was deafening and the only sound Peter could hear was the hammering of his own heartbeat. For a very long moment Elaine didn't say a single word, but eventually she lifted her own coffee mug to her lips and had a sip as if she needed some time to let the news sink in.  
“It happened a few months ago and then again the night of the-”  
“I don't need details, Peter!” Elaine suddenly barked at him, silencing him with the sharpness of her voice.  
He averted his eyes and waited for her to continue, but his wife took an awfully long time for that. She was angry and she had every right to be. Then, to his surprise, she scoffed.  
“I had a bad feeling when I found the drawings in your office, but I thought it was just some fantasy. I was mad, but I could have lived with that. Everyone has their fantasies and God knows I have mine, but I never thought you'd act on them. I didn't think Jenna would.”  
Out of the corner of his eye Peter became increasingly aware of the fact that she was staring at him and even though it frightened him a little he forced himself to look up. There was so much anger in her eyes, so much disappointment.  
“Where did we go wrong?” she asked him eventually. “And above all, can we fix this?”  
Peter didn't respond at first, but he knew that he had to. “We both went wrong. You shouldn't have lied about Cissy, I shouldn't have lied about the house and the band. I shouldn't have moved in with Jenna in the first place. Maybe if we had talked back then-”  
“You didn't exactly want to talk,” Elaine replied in an accusatory manner, but quickly softened her tone. “And yes, you're right, I shouldn't have lied about Cissy and the baby. And you shouldn't have cheated.”  
He nodded slowly. “What are we gonna do now?”  
His wife blew the air out between her lips and eventually rose from her seat. “You will pack your things and move into the house that you love so much,” she determined.  
Peter raised his head to look at her. Was she kicking him out? Was she really giving up without a fight?  
“Don't look at me like that,” she told him strictly. “You and I both know what this means and you've known it for a lot longer than I have. I could have looked past the cheating with anyone except Jenna.”  
“Why?” he asked her in disbelief. Right now Peter truly didn't understand.  
“Because even if you swear to me that it won't happen again, it will never be over. You can't even stay away from her for a month and you know it,” Elaine said slowly, her voice hoarse, and Peter thought there were tears in her eyes. “Because I think you're at this point where you would rather stop seeing me than you'd stop seeing her.”  
And with that her composure suddenly crumbled and collapsed and his wife burst into tears. Yet when Peter rose from his seat in an attempt to comfort her, she instantly slapped his hand away and turned around on her heels. She darted out of the room before he could stop her.

* * *

When Peter dropped his suitcase next to the large window and looked out on the lake he thought that maybe it was finally time to get rid of the weeds he had sworn to take care of for months. He also hadn't bought the Hollywood swing that he had told Jenna about and he vowed to himself that there would be one the next time she came to visit.  
It would take a while before he came to terms with everything that had happened and there were so many things he didn't even want to think about right now. It was going to be hard to officially close up the last 30 years of his life, but he knew that that was were he and Elaine were headed. Maybe, if they had both taken a different path a year ago, none of this would have happened – but they had and now they would both have to face the consequences. Even if they both decided to try, Peter knew that there was no way back from here.  
With a sigh Peter hung his jacket over the backrest of the couch and stepped outside. There was nothing like weeding to take his mind off everything else.


	43. Chapter 43

_Several Months Later_

Jenna heard the ruckus as soon as she stepped out of the car and it sounded suspiciously like an attempt on David Bowie's life if he hadn't been dead already. Laughing, she stepped inside the garage and interrupted the band in the middle of _Golden Years_. Peter stopped playing in an instant and his face lit up the second he saw her.  
“Dave, John,” he said towards his friends with a broad smile, “meet the future Mrs Capaldi.”  
“That's the _far-in-the-future_ Mrs Capaldi,” Jenna chuckled as she went up on tiptoes and greeted Peter with a kiss.  
“Not that far,” he argued, frowning a little.  
Jenna laughed as she went to shake hands with Dave and John. Peter was planning too far ahead, usually forgetting about the fact that he wasn't even properly divorced yet, but Jenna had to admit that she didn't mind how sweet and sincere Peter was in trying to make it up to her. The newspapers had latched on to his separation immediately and, fuelled by Tom's interview, they had blamed Jenna from the beginning, no matter how hard they still tried to stay out of the public. But soon that was going to be impossible.  
“So, you're the midlife crisis,” Dave joked as he shook Jenna's hand.  
“I am not having a midlife crisis!”  
“Yes, you are,” Jenna said and smiled at him before she gave him a soft nudge.  
“Are you gonna stay for another song? We've nailed our cover version of _Passenger_ ,” John said proudly and straightened his shoulders.  
As much as Jenna would have loved to stay and listen to them, despite the danger of bleeding ears, she hadn't come here to relax. Not this time.  
“Unfortunately Peter and I have some work to do,” she explained to his friends. “But you'll be back next weekend, right? Maybe we could have a little barbecue after the band practice.”  
Dave chuckled. “You've just said the magical word. Of course we'll be there.”  
“Absolutely,” John confirmed.

Once Peter and his band had packed up their instruments he and Jenna retreated to the house to make a cup of coffee before they would get started with their work, but Jenna could feel that there was still something on his mind that he would share with her sooner or later.  
“I still don't like the way the newspapers are talking about you,” he said after a moment.  
Jenna rolled her eyes in response. “There's an easy solution. _Don't read them_ ,” she told him.  
“But-”  
In a swift movement Jenna reached for the collar of his shirt and pulled him down for a long, soft kiss, the only certain way to make Peter shut up. It was crazy how the months had flown by and somehow they still weren't entirely used to the idea that they were actually free to be with each other. At first they had taken things slowly, they had spent time together as friends, joking around, hanging out on the sofa, watching the new series of Victoria and some more Classic Who that Jenna came to like more and more. There had been shy glances at first, some careful kisses and even after they had spent the night together a tiny part of her had still felt guilty. Yet the guilt had faded more and more in the light of the happiness she felt when she was with Peter. They belonged together and always had since they had first met each other for that lunch date years ago.  
When Jenna eventually pulled away Peter smiled at her. Then he started to chuckle. “I'll make an honest woman out of you one day.”  
She laughed in response and gave him another nudge. “Old-fashioned idiot,” she chuckled.  
“ _Your_ idiot,” Peter insisted.  
“Alright, _my_ idiot,” Jenna smiled at him, “grab some blankets, I'll get the tea and we can sit outside for a bit before the sun sets.”

* * *

Peter made sure that Jenna was properly wrapped up in her blanket before he leaned against the backrest of the Hollywood swing. It was still warm for a day in late October, but it would be really inconvenient if they were to catch a cold now. He glanced at Jenna while she was sipping her coffee and for a brief moment he couldn't even believe his luck. The fact that she was here, that they were happy, it seemed like a miracle. Maybe they were right when they said he was having a midlife crisis, but for the first time since he had left Doctor Who Peter finally felt content, happy in every aspect, like this was exactly where he was supposed to be.  
“Cissy called earlier.” Peter suddenly remembered.  
Jenna turned her head and looked at him expectantly. “What did she say?”  
“She and Ben are gonna go on holiday in the first December week and Elaine is gonna watch Abi throughout the week and she asked if we wanted her for the weekend.”  
She smiled at him in response. “Of course. That sounds great.”  
“Also Mr Johnson called me and asked if I was willing to do a second fanart book,” he announced proudly.  
This time Jenna started to laugh. “Well, tell him he needs to be a little patient because you've got work to do,” she replied and dropped a script on his lap.  
With a smile he opened the first page and looked at Jenna. It had been a distant dream, some idea he had had at a convention years ago and now they were actually going to do it, starting tomorrow with their first take.  
“ _Come in. Come in!_ ” he yelled at Jenna.  
She frowned at him in response. “ _I'm comin' in, aren't I? It's that stupid bleedin' handle on the door. You wanna get it fixed!_ ”  
Without meaning to Peter suddenly burst into laughter.  
“Focus!” Jenna nudged him again, but he found that a little hard while she was sitting next to him, looking beautiful and showing off her talent once again.  
“You're gonna be an amazing Rita,” he said sincerely.  
“And you'll be a lousy Frank if you don't learn your lines.”  
“I know my lines,” Peter replied, looking terribly affronted. He cleared his throat in an attempt to show her. “ _Will you kindly tell Trish that I am not giving a tutorial to a Dalek?_ ”  
Jenna laughed and at the same time rolled her eyes. “Of course you'd remember the Doctor Who reference,” she chuckled. “Now, come on. First scene. We'll get to the Dalek later.”  
With a sigh Peter leaned back and pushed his glasses a little further onto his nose. They were going to do _Educating Rita_ and it was going to be amazing. As long as he had Jenna by his side Peter was sure of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A massive thank you (and a hug) for everyone who has read the story and pressed the kudos button and an even bigger hug for my faithful commenters! You guys are what keeps me going :) Thank you so much for your support!  
> I hope you will love the last chapter as much as you've loved the rest of the story! As of tomorrow I will start posting a new Whouffaldi fic (Let It Be Me) and I hope I'll see you all again for that one :)


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